Oil wobbles amid slowdown worries, but Opec cut lend support
Brent slips as signs of a global economic slowdown mount
Singapore — Oil prices dipped on Wednesday on increasing signs of a global economic slowdown, although Opec-led supply cuts helped support Brent crude above $60 a barrel. International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.53 a barrel at 4.03am GMT, down 11c, or 0.2%, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 11c, or 0.2%, at $52 a barrel.
Prices were weighed down as signs of a global economic slowdown mounted. China, Asia’s biggest economy, faces rising trade uncertainties this year, a commerce ministry official said on Wednesday, after the government earlier this week reported poor December trade data, with both exports and imports contracting from a year earlier. In Japan, core machinery orders slowed sharply in November in a sign corporate capital expenditure could lose momentum as a bruising US-China trade war spills into the global economy. Adding to the trade woes, the US economy is taking a larger-than-expected hit from a partial gov...
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