Crude oil prices began their decline on Monday, dragged down by disappointing Chinese economic data that led China’s central bank to cut lending rates. WTI prices fell to $86.13 a barrel by 2:24 p.m. ET, down $3.28, or 3.67% on the day. Brent crude fell $2.98 (-3.13%) on the day to $92.12 a barrel—the lowest price since February this year. Gasoline prices in the United States have been falling for months due to falling crude oil prices. Gasoline prices in the United States today averaged $3.949 a gallon, according to AAA data, up from $3.956 yesterday. Over the past month, US gas prices have dropped 60 cents. They are still 76 cents above where they were last year. The weight of disappointing data from China – the world’s second-largest oil consumer and largest oil importer – was compounded on Tuesday by developments surrounding the Iran nuclear deal. Moments before the deadline, Iran sent its written response to the EU on the text of the “final” nuclear deal. In its letter, Iran suggested it was closer than it had ever been to securing a deal, although there were a few snags — most notably that the US guaranteed the deal could not be changed by future US presidents. Despite current crude oil fundamentals suggesting the market is still tight, the market fear is that Iran could release hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil per day into the market if sanctions are lifted. Iran has said it could ramp up production and exports within months. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More top reads from Oilprice.com:
