Oil prices inch down on China worries

TOKYO: Oil prices edged down on Monday as a disappointing Chinese economic survey clouded the outlook for demand, although talk that Opec-led crude output cuts could be extended continued to offer support.

NYMEX crude for June delivery was down 12 cents at $49.21 a barrel by 0619 GMT.

London Brent crude for new front-month delivery in July was down 15 cents at $51.90. A faster-than-expected slowdown of growth in China’s manufacturing sector in April weighed on prices.

An official survey showed on Sunday that producer price inflation cooled and policymakers’ efforts to curtail financial risks in the economy weighed on demand.

“The moderation in the China PMI could see commodity prices come under some modest pressure,” ANZ said in a note.

The price declines mark the third consecutive week that oil has started with a drop, with high inventories also dragging on markets that have been grappling with a global supply glut for the last few years.

Iran’s oil minister said on Saturday that Opec and nonOpec countries had given positive signals for an extension of output cuts, which Tehran would also back.

Opec meets this month discuss oil supply policy.

If Opec agrees to extend the cuts, then bloated global inventories could drain by the end of the year, a Reuters poll of economists and analysts showed.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al Falih said on Saturday there was consensus with Central Asia over oil markets and production levels. to