Oil extends losses as China fuel exports jump

Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic opened the week on a negative note, and now accelerate to the downside amid a bunch of fundamentals factors.

Brent around $ 50 mark

Currently, both crude benchmarks extend the down move, with Brent down -1.71% to trade around $ 50 barrier, while WTI drops -1.51% to 48.30 levels. Oil prices snapped a week-long winning streak and dived this session, mainly driven by latest data from the China customs, which revealed that China’s fuel exports jumped on annual basis. The Chinese exports data reinforced supply glut concerns and weighed down on the prices.

While some market participants felt that the August rally witnessed so far was overblown and took that as an excuse to take the profits off the table amid broadly a stronger greenback and bearish US rigs count data. The US oil rig count rose by 10 to 406 this week, according to driller Baker Hughes. That's the highest level since February 19, 2016.

Markets now look forward to the weekly supply reports ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium scheduled later this week.