The price of Brent crude oil declined below $80 a barrel today to a four-year low following the release of Chinese data, which showed a further slowdown in factory activity.
Oil price concerns were further fueled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) remaining silent on a possible reduction in output to curb the price plummet.
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Reuters reported that Brent crude for December declined 83 cents to $79.55, while US light crude was down 40 cents at $76.78 a barrel.
The Chinese economy lost momentum in October due to a drop in factory growth coupled with low investment growth.
OPEC ministers are due to meet in Vienna, Austria on 27 November to discuss its oil production policy. The group has previously reduced production at times of abundant supply.
Libya is supporting a cut in production, while several OPEC members, including Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, have all downplayed talks of any oil output reduction.
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By GlobalDataSaudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi was quoted by the news agency as saying the kingdom wanted stable oil prices but did not want to "politicise oil", which was "purely business": "We do not set the oil price. The market sets the prices."
Data from the American Petroleum Institute has revealed that US crude stocks declined by 1.5 million barrels last week to 373 million barrels.
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