Oil prices fell Friday, settling at their lowest level since January after data showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected last month and weak Chinese economic data added further pressure.
Brent crude futures fell $2.71, or 3.41%, to settle at $76.81 a barrel. WTI Crude futures fell $2.79, or 3.66%, to settle at $73.52.
Both indexes fell more than $3 a barrel at session lows.
U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July and unemployment rose to 4.3%, signaling growing fears of a possible recession.
Economic data from top oil importer China and surveys showing weak manufacturing activity across Asia, Europe, and the United States raised the risk of a slow global economic recovery that would weigh on oil consumption.
Falling manufacturing activity in China also weighed on prices and raised concerns about demand growth after June data showed imports and refining activity were lower than a year ago.
Asia’s crude imports in July fell to a two-year low due to weak demand from China and India.
Meanwhile, OPEC oil production rose in July as a recovery in Saudi Arabian supplies and smaller increases elsewhere offset the impact of ongoing voluntary supply cuts by other members and the broader OPEC+ alliance.
OPEC pumped 26.70 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, up 100,000 bpd from June, shipping data showed.
The OPEC+ meeting on Thursday left the group’s oil production policy unchanged, including plans to begin easing a layer of production cuts from October.
Hezbollah and Hamas’ conflict with Israel has also entered a new phase, though analysts said there were no major disruptions to oil supplies from the region as prices fell to their lowest levels in weeks days after the militant groups’ top leaders were killed.
