2018.10.2915:13:00UTC+00Oil Futures End Lower On Demand Growth Concerns

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday, amid prospects of a fall in demand for crude due to slowing global economy.

Current political situation in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom are also weighing on crude oil.

U.S. sanctions on Iran are set to take effect on November 4, but it is still not clear how big an impact the loss of Iranian oil will make on global supply. Saudi Arabia has already stated that it would step up production to make up for the likely shortfall.

Crude oil futures for December ended down $0.55, or 0.8%, at $67.04 a barrel.

On Friday, crude oil futures ended up $0.26, or 0.4%, at $67.59 a barrel. However, oil futures lost about 2.4% in the week, settling lower for a second straight week.

With the Chinese economy slowing down and the impact of the trade dispute with the U.S. likely to hurt growth further, it is widely expected that crude demand will see a drop in the near term.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration last Wednesday revealed that U.S. crude stockpiles rose for a fifth straight week. The Baker Hughes report on Friday said U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a third week in a row, keeping the rig count at its highest in over three years.

Last week, Saudi OPEC governor Adeeb Al-Aama reportedly said the oil market could shift into oversupply in the last quarter of the year and that OPEC may have to return to oil production cuts.