LONDON: Brent crude oil fell towards $99 a barrel on Tuesday after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from China and Germany darkened the outlook for fuel demand.
June Brent crude was down $1.00 to $99.39 a barrel by 1008 GMT, while US crude for June delivery was down 86 cents at $88.33.
The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for April fell to 50.5 in April from 51.6 a month earlier as new export orders shrank in China.
The PMI's 50-point level divides growth from contraction from the month before. The data followed lower-than-expected GDP growth for China in the first quarter which helped sparked a sharp sell-off last week.
There was also a surprise decline in business activity among German companies, although the overall euro zone services PMI rose slightly and met economists forecasts.
"China and German data disappointed, so it's not a big surprise that oil comes off and the technical picture points to another push lower," Bjarne Schieldrop, an analyst at SEB in Oslo, said.
He cited $99 and $97.60 as levels of support for oil, but said that, in the longer term, current prices presented buying opportunities.
"Seasonal demand is likely to return, and with refineries coming back from maintenance we see now as a good time to get into the market," he said.
Brent settled above $100 on Monday for the first time in five sessions as traders saw oil below the psychological level as a bargain.
The benchmark has fallen 10 percent from about $111 in early April due to concerns about global growth.
The decline has sparked speculation that OPEC could look again at supply at its May 31 meeting although Libya has said it would seek to increase its output quota.
In response to China's moderate growth, Saudi Arabia is expected to keep oil output steady throughout the second quarter after a 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) cut in the last two months of 2012.
