Oversupply sees Brent crude drop

Crude oil futures slipped to fresh multi-month lows on Monday (August 10th), as discouraging data from China revealed exports plummeted in July.

The report revealed exports tumbled by 8.3 per cent last month, marking the biggest decline since February. Weaker global demand for Chinese goods and a strong yuan policy has been assigned the blame for the fall.

Last month, producer prices sank to their lowest since 2009, when the global financial crisis damaged the market. Prices have now been on a continuous slide for the last three years.

While official predictions put yearly growth for China's economy at seven per cent, there are some naysayers who believe it is actually expanding at a much more restrained pace.

Brent crude lost 24 cents, slipping to $48.37 per barrel this morning, rising slightly after hitting a six-month low of $48.26. US crude shed 21 cents, taking the price to $43.66 a barrel, climbing back up from an almost five-year low of $43.35.

Oversupply and falling demand have seen both benchmarks fall for six consecutive weeks, while the possibility of Iran adding an extra 500,000 barrels a day has weighed heavily on the commodity.