By Gurdeep Singh Crude-oil futures continued their overnight decline in Asian trade Thursday with the selloff gathering momentum after China reported weaker manufacturing activity, adding fresh concerns to an already gloomy outlook for global oil demand. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $80.17 a barrel at 0656 GMT, down $1.28 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $1.01 to $91.68 a barrel. A preliminary gauge of China's manufacturing activity showed more weakness in June. The HSBC initial or "flash" measure of manufacturing also pointed to weakness in the months ahead as its barometer of new manufacturing orders, particularly export orders, showed further weakening amid a lingering global economic slowdown. China has been the cornerstone of global oil demand over the last couple of years as oil consumption in much of the developed world has been under pressure because of the economic slowdown. Concerns over a slowing Chinese economy further weakened already bearish sentiment. The HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.1 in June compared with a final reading of 48.4 in May. It was the eighth straight month of a reading below 50, which indicates contraction from the previous month. Even before the Chinese data was announced, oil prices were under pressure because of a surprisingly large buildup in U.S. oil stockpiles and the Federal Reserve's holding off taking aggressive steps to boost the U.S. economy. The response to the Federal Reserve's decision within the energy complex was far from robust "as rapidly deteriorating oil market fundamentals continue to weigh on petroleum values," said Jim Ritterbusch at Ritterbusch and Associates. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for July--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 202 points to $2.5700 a gallon, while July heating oil traded at $2.5680, 194 points lower. ICE gasoil for July changed hands at $824.50 a metric ton, down $16.75 from Wednesday's settlement. Write to Gurdeep Singh at gurdeep.singh@dowjones.com

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