KB: Crude price drops near $85 a barrel on disappointing China trade data, end of Statoil strike
Oil prices is falling Tuesday after China released data indicating its economy continues to slow and Norway stepped in to end a strike that threatened its North Sea oil production.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell by $1.02 to $84.98 in morning trading. Brent crude lost $1.77 to $98.55 in London.
China's June imports increased by about 6 percent. But that was down from May's rate and less than analysts forecast. Export growth fell as well. China is the world's second biggest oil consumer behind the U.S. Demand for oil is likely to soften as its economy loses steam.
Norway's government imposed binding arbitration on striking oil workers, preventing a lockout that would have shut down production of about 1.6 million barrels a day of Brent crude.
