(New York) Oil prices paused on Monday after several weeks of rising, weakened by the strength of the dollar and concerns about demand in China, one of the country’s largest real estate groups in trouble.
A barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in October, fell 0.69% to 86.21 dollars.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in September, dropped 0.81% to 82.51 dollars.
Crude is down “due to growing concerns over China and a worsening real estate crisis,” commented analysts at DNB.
Shares in developer Country Garden, one of China’s largest real estate groups, slumped on the stock market on Monday, as the company’s precarious financial health and astronomical debt burden markets.
Its situation is the direct consequence of a crisis of unprecedented magnitude in real estate, a sector which, along with construction, has long represented a quarter of China’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Investors seem increasingly convinced that inflation in the western part of the world is being brought under control and recession should be avoided, but their view on China is ambivalent,” said Tamas Varga of PVM. Energy.
As China is the world’s largest importer of rough, the health of its economy is indeed a major driver of demand.
“It is evident that in the absence of a solid recovery in the Chinese economy, the outlook” for global crude demand remains mixed, the analyst added.
In addition, the strength of the greenback, which remains close to its highest for a month, weighs on the price of a barrel of crude which is exchanged in the American currency.
However, the fall in prices remains minimal compared to the rise in the price of a barrel of Brent and a barrel of WTI in recent months. Since the end of June, these prices have swelled by around fifteen dollars.
