Oil slides 3% as China lockdowns stoke demand fears

Oil slides 3% as China lockdowns stoke demand fears

London: Oil prices tumbled 3 per cent on Thursday, as new COVID-19 lockdown measures in China added to worries that high inflation and interest rate hikes are denting fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell $1.95, or 3.2 per cent, to $92.64 a barrel by 11.34am ET (7.34pm UAE time). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid $2.81, or 2.9 per cent, to $86.84 a barrel. “Western-world oil demand, as well as China’s, is stagnant, while supplies are expanding incrementally, largely on the back of the US shale boom,” said Julius Baer analyst Norbert Rucker. Asia’s factory activity slumped in August as China’s zero-COVID curbs and cost pressures continued to hurt businesses, surveys showed on Thursday, darkening the outlook for the region’s fragile recovery. Southern Chinese tech hub Shenzhen tightened COVID-19 curbs as cases kept increasing. Large events and indoor entertainment were suspended for three days in the city’s most populous district, Baoan. The main European stocks index fell to seven-week lows as worries deepened about aggressive rate hikes to fight record inflation. The dollar index hit a 20-year high after US data showed a resiliently strong economy, giving the Federal Reserve more room to raise interest rates. A stronger