Oil prices slipped on Monday, weighed down by Moody’s downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating and official data that showed a slowdown in the pace of China’s industrial output and retail sales.
Front-month Brent crude futures edged down 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.06 a barrel by 0440 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $62.23 a barrel.
The front-month June WTI contract expires on Tuesday and the more-active July contract fell 31 cents, or 0.5%, to $61.66 a barrel.
Both contracts rose more than 1% last week after the U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest economies and oil consumers, agreed to a 90-day pause on their trade war with sharply lower import tariffs.
Moody’s downgrade raises questions about the outlook for the U.S. economy, and China’s data points to a bumpy road ahead for any economic recovery, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
The Moody’s downgrade may not impact oil demand directly, but it does create more sober market sentiment, she said.
