Oil prices fall as China's economy weakens

A gas station attendant refuels a car in Dhaka
(Image credit: Piyas Biswas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Oil prices fell Monday as weak China economic data intensified concerns about lowered demand from the world's second-largest economy and largest crude importer, and as Saudi Aramco said it was ready to increase oil output, Reuters and The Associated Press report.

International benchmark Brent crude fell 1.2 percent to $97.01 per barrel following a 1.5 percent drop on Friday. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell $1.06, or 1.2 percent, to $91.03, after falling 2.4 percent on Friday. Government data in China showed that the country's economy unexpectedly slowed in July and refinery output dropped to its lowest since March 2020, suggesting oil demand was falling after high fuel prices forced consumers to cut back.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.