Crude oil falls to 7-week low

WTI crude oil futures fell 2% on Monday to the 76 dollar range, the first time in 7 weeks, as demand concerns offset the risk of a decline in supply due to the tense situation in the Middle East.

The fact that China's GDP fell below expectations and the factory PMI declined was the latest signal indicating sluggish fuel demand in China, which is the world's largest consumer country, and confirms that fuel imports will drop 11% in the first half of 2024.

However, concerns about supply disruptions limited the decline as Israel declared strong retaliation against Hezbollah on Sunday and accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of carrying out a rocket attack on a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and killing 12 children and teenagers.

It was viewed as material that Israeli officials expressed the idea that they wanted to avoid involving the Middle East in an all-out war due to retaliatory attacks while pursuing responsibility for the pro-Iranian armed organization Hezbollah based in Lebanon over the rocket attack on the Golan Heights