Crude oil futures both fell by more than one percent in early London trading Tuesday, after a second successive set of disappointing data showing slower growth in China's manufacturing sector renewed concerns about future oil demand.
At 0735 GMT, the front-month June Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was down $1.02 at $99.37 a barrel.
The front-month June light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading $1.01 lower at $88.18 a barrel.
The preliminary HSBC China manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 50.5 in April, from a final reading of 51.6 in March. A reading above 50 indicates growth while a reading below 50 shows contraction. Last week, China's first-quarter growth data undershot expectations.
"The weakness in the oil complex continues to come from a growing view that global oil demand may turn out to be lower than what the market was expecting earlier in the year, said Dominick Chirichella of the Energy Management Institute. "With supply still relatively robust any further weakening of demand is going to result in an imbalance with inventories likely to build and keep a cap on oil prices."
