NEW YORK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil futures prices fell on Monday as investors' concerns over oil demand outlook outweighed additional production cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery lost 85 cents, or 1.20 percent, to settle at 69.79 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery lost 76 cents, or 1.01 percent, to settle at 74.65 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Saudi Arabia will extend the 1-million-barrel/day voluntary production cut into August while Russia plans to cut oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August, according to official statements from the two countries on Monday.
Oil prices spiked on the news but turned into losses late Monday amid weak manufacturing indicators.
Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in June for the eighth consecutive month with the manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) falling to 46 from 46.9 in May, according to data issued by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday.
Saudi Arabia and Russia announced additional production cuts but traders focused on recession risks, noted Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.
"The bottom is in place for oil after the Saudis and Russians play nice... WTI crude seems poised to make some higher lows here even if a stronger dollar emerges on fears the Fed will be taking rates much higher," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
The global growth outlook won't be improving anytime soon given the latest global PMIs, but the United States and China outlooks should remain upbeat for the next few months, according to Moya.
