A technical breakdown in crude futures prices on both sides of the Atlantic spurred further selling, with no bottom yet in sight, analysts said. Brent has fallen almost $38 a barrel since hitting $128.40 in early March, as increased production from Saudi Arabia has led to a rise in stockpiles. In London, Brent futures for August delivery were down $1.92 at $90.77 a barrel by 11:45 a.m. EDT. They slipped earlier to $90.30, the lowest level since December 2010.
U.S. August crude was down $1.70 at $79.75 a barrel, after hitting an eight-month low of $79.25.
“Supply is outstripping demand and whatever other data you see out there won’t change that,” said Dominick Chrichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York.
“People who are long on oil are just biting the bullet and heading home.”
China’s factory sector shrank for an eighth straight month in June as export order sentiment hit its weakest since early 2009, according to a survey indicating the country’s economic trough may extend well into the third quarter.
U.S. jobs data added to the gloom with news that the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims changed little last week.
