Because... fundamentals...
Nothing says "Buy Oil" like the weakest US manufacturing PMI since 2009, dismal Japanese trade data, and the European economy collapsing.
Chatter is that the catalyst for the move is a Genscape report showing an inventory draw at Cushing
WTI had been sliding amid growing optimism for returning Canada production after weather relief over weekend helped firefighters battling wildfires that shut-in more than 1m b/d of production.
Brent extends drop into 4th day, falls below $48, as French refinery strikes add to bearish sentiment.
“Canada is coming back and refinery strikes in France are bearish for crude oil, although bullish for products,” says Petromatrix oil analyst Olivier Jakob. “The combination of these two is putting some pressure on oil”
As supply disruptions fade, prices drifted lower overnight amid tumbling growth guesses from dismal PMIs... and then US equities opened and the buying panic ensued.