Okay not bear market territory exactly, but it feels like it given recent price action.
“Brent crude fell to its lowest level in nine months and West Texas Intermediate dropped below $90 a barrel, as economic growth unexpectedly eased in China, the world’s second-largest crude consumer.
Brent declined as much as 2.2 percent to its weakest since July 13. China’s gross domestic product in the first quarter rose 7.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That compares with the 8 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey and 7.9 percent in the prior quarter. The World Bank cut its forecast for the nation’s economic growth. Nicolas Maduro was elected president of Venezuela, OPEC’s third-biggest oil producer.
“This simply confirms the picture of a slowing economy” inChina, said Guy Wolf, Global Head of Market Analytics at Marex Spectron Group in London, who predicts Brent may fall as low as $85 this quarter. “Globally, the picture is not healthy.”
Brent for May settlement, which expires today, fell as much as $2.28, or 2.2 percent, to $100.83 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and traded at $101.04 at 9:42 a.m. local time. The more-active June future dropped $1.97 to $101.07 a barrel. The front-month European benchmark grade was at a premium of $11.88 to WTI futures.
WTI for May delivery decreased as much as $2.83, or 3.1 percent, to $88.46 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since Dec. 24. It was at $89.13 a barrel at 9:46 a.m. London time. The volume of all futures traded was 237 percent above the 100-day average.
