Oil slides on China trade slump

Chinese data shows weakening imports and exports in the world's biggest trading nation.
Jo-Mare Duddy Booysen
Henning Gloystein - Oil prices fell by almost 1% yesterday, with Brent crude slipping below US$60 per barrel, after Chinese data showed weakening imports and exports in the world's biggest trading nation and second-largest crude oil consumer.

International Brent crude oil futures were at US$59.91 per barrel at 0403 GMT, down 57 US cents, or 0.9% from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 47 US cents, or 0.9%, at US$51.12 a barrel.

China's December overall exports fell by 4.4% from a year earlier, the biggest monthly drop in two years, official data showed yesterday, pointing to further weakening in the world's second-largest economy. Imports last month also contracted, falling 7.6%, the biggest decline since July 2016.

"Crude futures were back in the red as trading began for a fresh week in Asia, in tandem with most of the region's stock markets ... [as] China early Monday reported US$351.76 billion trade surplus in dollar terms for 2018, the lowest since 2013," said energy consultant Vandana Hari of Vanda Insights in a note yesterday.

The weak trade figures confirm a raft of indicators that have been pointing to an economic slowdown since the second half of 2018.

"Producer price inflation has decelerated for six consecutive months, adding to other signs of cooling industrial activity [in China] amid weakening global demand," rating agency Moody's said in a note.

Traders said the data pulled down crude oil futures and Asian stock markets alike, which had both posted modest gains earlier yesterday.

Slowing

Economic research firm TS Lombard said oil prices were capped as "the world economy is now slowing ... limiting the scope for positive surprises in oil demand and hampering inventory reduction."

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark's Saxo Bank, said "the deterioration seen recently in forward-looking economic data from the US to Europe and China" meant that the upside for crude oil futures was likely limited to US$64 per barrel for Brent and for US$55 for WTI.

Despite the weak Chinese trade data, the country's oil imports remained sky-high in December at 10.31 million barrels per day (bpd), holding above the 10 million bpd mark for the second month in a row, on stock-building by small independent refiners who were trying to use up annual quotas.

Amid this strong demand from the world's biggest oil importer, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC allies, including Russia, have been cutting supply since late 2018, providing crude prices with some support.

In the United States, drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to Jan. 11, bringing the total count down to 873, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a weekly report on Friday. – Nampa/Reuters

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 219.48/OZ UP +1.31% | Copper US$ 3.98/lb UP +0.01% | Zinc US$ 2 453.50/T DOWN -0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.30/BBP UP +1.06% | Platinum US$ 906.04/OZ UP +1.25% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 37° Rundu: 17° | 33° Eenhana: 18° | 33° Oshakati: 20° | 31° Ruacana: 19° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 28° Omaruru: 18° | 31° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 16° | 19° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:54, High tide: 04:57, Low Tide: 22:58, High tide: 17:16 Swakopmund: 15° | 17° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:55, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:14 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 33km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:54, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:13 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 22° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 34° Aranos: 21° | 31° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 34° Oranjemund: 15° | 21° Luanda: 27° | 30° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 24° Mbabane: 15° | 23° Maseru: 12° | 28° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 29° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 23° Durban: 21° | 25° Johannesburg: 18° | 28° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 30° Harare: 15° | 31° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.87 | EUR to NAD 20.44 | CNY to NAD 2.62 | USD to NAD 18.94 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.8 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.29 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.93 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12981.98 Up +0.34% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 219.48/OZ UP +1.31% | Copper US$ 3.98/lb UP +0.01% | Zinc US$ 2 453.50/T DOWN -0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.30/BBP UP +1.06% | Platinum US$ 906.04/OZ UP +1.25%