Oil continues to fall

Oil fell on a weak outlook for China and dwindling U.S. inventories, along with a broader pullback in commodity and equity markets. Brent fell to $81 a barrel after rising 0.9 percent on Wednesday, while U.S. crude approached $77. As Beijing eased monetary policy on Thursday, there are underlying concerns that an economic slowdown will weigh on crude demand. Stocks and commodities including copper also fell. Crude has been falling since a peak earlier in the month on concerns about a weak demand outlook in Asia’s largest economy. Futures have been trading higher since the start of the year as OPEC+ members continue their production cuts and expectations of an imminent U.S. interest rate cut rise. “The expectations of strong demand are wishful thinking given the weak recovery in China,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova Pte in Singapore, adding that uncertainty about possible U.S. interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve remains. China’s crude imports, which source from around the world including Russia, the Middle East and the United States, fell by 2.3 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2023. On Wednesday, the U.S. reported that commercial crude inventories fell by 3.74 million barrels for a fourth week, while gasoline inventories also fell.