West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery declined to $33.14 (-1.43%), while Brent crude fell to $35.44 (-1.53%) amid weak economic data from China. According to an official report released today, activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace in nearly three-and-a-half years in January. Meanwhile expectations for oil producers to co-operate and reduce output deteriorated.
Analysts expect weakness of the Chinese economy and ample oil supplies to weigh on crude prices throughout 2016.