London — Oil prices slipped on Monday as trade tensions and troubled emerging markets dented the outlook for fuel demand, though US sanctions against Iran pointed towards tighter supply ahead. Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 10c at $72.74 a barrel by 8.50am GMT. US light crude was 15c lower at $67.48 a barrel. Turkey’s financial crisis has raised the risk of contagion throughout emerging economies, dragging down the rand, Argentina and Mexico’s pesos as well as the Russian rouble. It has also dented emerging market stocks while curbing growth and the outlook for oil demand. This is compounding worries that a deepening trade war between the US, China and the EU will squeeze business activity in the world’s biggest economies. "Trade protectionism and escalating tensions between the world’s largest economies (the US and China) have cast a looming shadow on global oil demand growth in 2018," brokerage Phillip Futures said on Monday. Hedge funds and other money managers reduced their ...
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