Oil prices fell on Monday

International benchmarks for oil prices continued to move lower on Monday (25 July) due to growing concern over the state of supply of refined products while demand is expected to diminish in the near term as refiners enter the maintenance shutdown season. One positive sign is that Iran’s gasoline consumption hit record high in July, boosting demand for crude among Iranian refiners. However, the outlook is more bearish elsewhere with sign of weaker demand in China and Europe causing financial investors to withdraw from the energy market, which pressure prices down.

WTI closed at $43.13/barrel (-$1.06) September delivery

Brent closed at $44.72/barrel (-$0.97) September delivery