By Christian Berthelsen
Oil prices were little changed Tuesday after a final reading on
Chinese manufacturing remained flat, indicating sluggish economic
expansion in the world's second-largest crude consumer.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down 7 cents, or
0.1%, at $94.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The
international Brent crude contract was up 1 cent at $97.21 a barrel
on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange.
The final reading of HSBC's China Manufacturing purchasing
managers index was unchanged at 50.2 for September. The reading was
barely above 50, indicating weak growth; a number below 50 would
indicate contraction. The oil market closely watches economic
activity in China for indications of global demand. Recent weak
data there has contributed to the three-month slide in crude
prices.
"Further contributing to the downtrend that has been in play for
most of the third quarter has been the lackluster demand profile
from the main oil demand growth engine of the world, China," Energy
Management Institute analyst Dominick Chirichella said in a note.
"The global economic data is currently projecting more of the same
- slow economic growth going forward which will result in
relatively flat demand at least for the medium term."
The market is also waiting on weekly data from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration reflecting the latest supply inventories
of crude and refined products. The U.S. uses more oil than any
other country. The report is scheduled for release Wednesday
morning.
Contracts for refined products are set to expire Tuesday, which
analysts said could contribute to volatility in the market. October
gasoline futures were up 0.33 cent, or 0.1%, at $2.6996 a gallon on
the Nymex. October diesel was down 0.28 cent, or 0.1%, at $2.7013 a
gallon.
Write to Christian Berthelsen at
christian.berthelsen@wsj.com
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