Oil prices nearing their lows from spring

Oil prices have got off to a dreadful start in August following what was already an extremely weak July which saw prices plummet by 18% in the case of Brent and as much as 21% in the case of WTI. Brent plunged by 5.2% yesterday, falling below the $50 per barrel mark for the first time in a good six months. For a time, Brent came within $4 of the six-year low it reached at the beginning of the year, notes Commerzbank. WTI dropped by a good 4% to as low as $45 per barrel, which is only $3 off the six-year low it hit in mid-March. 

Weak Chinese data and a continued high rate of OPEC production (see yesterday's Commodities Daily) are weighing on prices, as is a 9% slump in US gasoline prices, adds Commerzbank.