Oil Prices Slips as Weak U.S. Data Weighs

Investing.com – Oil prices moved lower Tuesday as another bout of weaker-than-expected economic data stateside underlined worries over global demand.

New York-traded fell 39 cents, or 0.71%, at $54.17 a barrel by 11:22 AM ET (16:22 GMT).

Meanwhile, , the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., slipped 6 cents, or 0.10%, to $62.45.

According to the Institute of Supply Management, activity in the U.S. economy’s slowed to a , missing consensus estimates and increasing worries of demand on a global scale.

In a separate from research firm IHS Markit, Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson noted that the rates of economic growth, job creation and inflation signaled by the PMI surveys have cooled since peaks seen last year.

“This possibly reflects some impact from the government shutdown, though scant evidence of such was seen in the anecdotal evidence from the surveys, but also reflects an easing of demand growth, notably from abroad,” Willilamson explained.

Adding to the downbeat outlook, data released Monday showed an unexpected fall in for U.S.-made goods in November, with sharp declines in demand for machinery and electrical equipment.

Signs of economic weakness amid unresolved trade tensions between China and the U.S. have put oil bulls in check after a strong start to the year. Crude began 2019 with an 18% surge, clocking the best January in its history.

Although major oil producers led by OPEC have begun reducing output this year in an attempt to rein in the global supply glut, concerns remain that a weakening global economy may drop demand faster than the group can cut production, leaving the market oversupplied.

In other energy trading, rose 0.68% to $1.4420 a gallon by 11:22 AM ET (16:22 GMT), while edged forward 0.06% to $1.9085 a gallon.

Lastly, traded up 1.35% to $2.696 per million British thermal units.

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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