West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day after manufacturing gauges in China and the U.S. dropped, signaling reduced fuel demand.

Futures decreased as much as 1 percent. The Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. factory index dropped more than forecast last month. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped to a six-month low in January, a sign that government efforts to rein in credit will cool growth in the biggest oil-consuming country after the U.S. WTI’s discount to Brent shrank to the narrowest level since October today.

WTI for March delivery dropped 94 cents, or 1 percent, to $96.55 a barrel at 11:13 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 13 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent for March settlement decreased 99 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $105.41 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 7.6 higher than the 100-day average.

The European benchmark’s premium to WTI narrowed to as little at $8.09, the least since Oct. 18 on an intraday basis.

The price of gold is growing at a weaker dollar after weak data on manufacturing activity in the United States .

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. in January, has stalled due to lower inventories . This is according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), published on Monday . According to the report , the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing the United States in January fell to 51.3 from 56.5 in December. Index value above 50 indicates growth in the sector of activity . Economists had expected the index in January was 56.2 .

Another indicator of manufacturing activity , the index of business activity in the U.S. industry from Markit in January , according to final data , fell to 53.7 , below the 11 -month high of 55.0 in December. January's value was the lowest since October , but the index remained above the level of 50.0, which is neutral. This points to the continued improvement of business conditions .

At the same time, some experts attribute the increase in demand for the precious metal to concerns about the economies of developing countries. "At this point, investors will focus on the problems of emerging markets , which supported the gold price in a few weeks ," - said Bank of America analyst Michael Widmer .

The cost of the April gold futures on the COMEX today rose to $ 1264.70 per ounce.