WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell on the first trading day of 2019 on growth worries and amid concerns over surging output in the U.S. and Russia.
Global benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.97 percent to $53.28 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 0.70 percent at $45.09 per barrel.
Growth concerns intensified after a private survey showed that manufacturing activity in China, the world's biggest oil importer, contracted for the first time in 19 months in December.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.7 from 50.2 in November amid ongoing trade frictions between the world's two largest economies.
Meanwhile, with U.S. output reaching a record in October, Iraq boosting oil exports in December and Russia's oil production hitting a post-Soviet high last year, concerns of a supply glut also returned to haunt investors.
WTI futures plunged almost 25 percent last year and Brent prices tumbled nearly 20 percent on fears of a slowing global economy amid multiple headwinds such as the U.S.-China trade conflict and Brexit.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
