RTRS:Brent falls below $112 on U.S. recession fears
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude fell below $112 a barrel on Monday, as fears of another U.S. recession slowing fuel demand overshadowed supply concerns over a major shutdown of offshore oil production forced by Tropical Storm Lee.
U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in August, reviving recession fears and piling pressure on both President Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve to provide more stimulus to aid the frail economy.
Front-month Brent fell 88 cents to $111.45 a barrel by 0624 GMT (2:24 a.m. ET). Brent plunged almost $2 a barrel on Friday on the disappointing jobs data released in the U.S.
U.S. crude was down a dollar to $85.45 a barrel, after settling $2.48 lower at $86.45. Friday's losses wiped out part of U.S. crude's 4.1 percent gain in the week through Thursday.
"The macro situation is leading to fears of a double-dip recession. And there has been a recent trend of selling into strength when the market hits a soft patch," said Chen Xin Yi, a commodities analyst at Barclays Capital in Singapore.
"That said, the fundamentals in the oil market remain strong and any upside surprise in macro data releases from what is evidently now a low base of expectations should spur further gains."
Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower on Monday, after the U.S. Labor Department said employers added no net new jobs last month and July's total was revised lower.
Compounding fears of a recession in the United States, Europe faces a string of political and legal tests this week that could hurt efforts to resolve its sovereign debt. Continued...