Oil prices fall as China cuts oil imports

Oil prices fell on Monday as investors feared weak oil demand and a global economic downturn as a result of disappointing oil import data from China.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $90.44 per barrel at 09.48 a.m. local time (0648 GMT) for a 0.95% decrease from the closing price of $91.31 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $84.14 per barrel at the same time for a 1.07% drop after the previous session closed at $85.05 a barrel.

Last week, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced its decision to keep interest rates unchanged, raising hopes of stronger demand in the world’s second-largest oil consumer.

However, bearish data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Monday that China’s crude oil throughput fell 2% in September compared to the previous year, leading to lower oil prices.