$Rex Intl (5WH.SG)$$RH PetroGas (T13.SG)$$Crude Oil Futures(...

$Rex Intl(5WH.SG)$ $RH PetroGas(T13.SG)$ $Crude Oil Futures(JUN4)(CLmain.US)$ $Occidental Petroleum(OXY.US)$ $Imperial Petroleum(IMPP.US)$ $Indonesia Energy(INDO.US)$
Soft demand for oil in China weighed on crude prices on Mon. But after an early plunge, the market recovered - ironically - on weak U.S. business activity data that suggested the Fed might back off from aggressive rate hikes by the year-end. This speculation by traders has kept the stock to oil markets afloat over the past week, when fundamentals suggested they should close lower.
Brent crude settled down 0.3% at USD93.26. Earlier, it went just under the USD90 support, touching a session low of USD89.05. WTI settled down 0.6% at USD84.58. Earlier in the session, it fell almost 3%, to an intraday bottom of USD82.67.
Economsts are awaiting the U.S. Q3 GDP on Thu. They are projecting an annualized economic growth of 2.4%, after two consecutive quarters of contraction in the first half of the year.
That weakening could indicate that the Fed's interest rate increases to fight inflation have been working and may persuade it to slow its rate hike policies, a positive signal for fuel demand.
Beijing released much-delayed trade data that showed demand remaining lackluster in Sep as strict COVID-19 policy and fuel export curbs depressed consumption. Uncertainty over China's zero-COVID policy and property crisis loomed despite better-than-expected growth in the country's Q3 GDP, undermining the effectiveness of pro-growth measures, ING analysts said.
Despite rising from Aug, China's crude imports in Sep of 9.79 m barrels per day were 2% below the amount brought in a year earlier, customs data showed on Mon, as independent refiners curbed throughput amid thin margins and uninspiring demand.