LONDON: Brent Oil relapsed into a bear market as rising Iraqi exports and a rebound in US drilling signalled that the global supply glut will grow.
The European benchmark crude fell 2.1 per cent to a four-month low. It has lost over 20 per cent from this year’s highest close, meeting the common definition of a bear market. Iraq’s oil exports from the South rose to an all-time high this month. The number of rigs seeking oil rose by 21 to 659, the third weekly gain this month, Baker Hughes data show.
Oil’s rebound from a six-year low has faltered amid signs that a surplus will persist as the US pumps near the fastest rate in three decades and leading members of OPEC pump at record levels. China’s stock index fell the most since 2007, bolstering concern that raw material demand will slip in the world’s second-biggest economy.
