Concerns over a potential imposition of Chinese duties on American crude imports and rise in supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led producers group have weighed on oil prices.
US light crude oil CLc1 went down $1.06 to reach $64 a barrel, while North Sea Brent LCOc1 fell by $0.36 to stand at $73.08, Reuters reported.
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Before hitting the level, US light crude oil declined to a two-month low of $63.59 per barrel.
China and the US have been at loggerheads over issues related to trade tariffs.
Last week, US President Donald Trump went ahead with tariffs on $50bn of Chinese imports, which will be implemented on 6 July.
As a retaliatory move, the Chinese Government placed duties on American export products, including crude oil.
Futures brokerage Phillip Futures’ Benjamin Lu was quoted by the news agency as saying: “These punitive measures on bilateral trade have unnerved investors, as it hurts global economic growth.”
In the last two years, US oil exports have increased due to growing shale oil production.
Last month, Brent crude breached the $80 a barrel mark, reaching their highest levels in three and a half years with support from strong demand and supply cuts by the OPEC since January last year.
US bank Goldman Sachs said: “Oil prices have sold off over the past three weeks on concerns over higher OPEC production.”
Russia and Saudi Arabia have already indicated that they are inclined to raise crude supply.
There is a planned meeting in Vienna, Austria, on 22 June, where the OPEC-led group will take a call on forward production policy.
