Crude oil closes: weak manufacturing data weighs on demand outlook Crude oil closed sharply lower

News from the financial world on August 2 that investors are preparing for this week's supply meeting held by OPEC and other major crude oil producers, while weak manufacturing data in Asia and Europe hit the outlook for crude oil demand, and crude oil futures closed sharply lower
.

September futures for West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $4.
73, or 4.
8%,
to settle at $93.
89 a barrel.
October Brent crude futures on the Intercontinental Exchange of Europe fell $3.
94, or 3.
8%,
to close at $100.
03 a barrel.

Gasoline prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.
7 percent to $2.
998 a gallon in September, while heating oil prices fell 3.
1 percent to $
3.
44 a gallon in September.
Natural gas fell 0.
7% to $8.
283/MMBtu in
September.

West Texas Intermediate's support near its previous low near $93 a barrel could be tested again this week as sell-off interest
emerges.
Brian Swan, senior commodities analyst at Schneider Electric, said in a note: "Oil companies are stalling due to fears of a recession and news of increased oil production in Libya
.
"

The Institute for Supply Management reported that its closely watched manufacturing index fell to 52.
8% in July from 53%
a month earlier.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to reach 52.
1 percent
.
Although being above 50% means growth, the latest data is the lowest since
June 2020.

Oil traders are focusing on the upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, scheduled for Wednesday
.

Craig Erlam, senior market strategist at OANDA, wrote in a note on Monday: "With OPEC theoretically lifting all pandemic production cuts and previous agreements expiring, attention will now turn to how OPEC+ plans to actually achieve these goals and whether further production
increases will be announced in the future.
"

At the same time, disappointing economic data from Asian economies also dampened hopes of a rebound in oil prices, weighing on oil prices
.