SINGAPORE: Brent futures fell more than $1 towards $101 a barrel on Monday, staying close to a nine-month low hit earlier in the day, after bleak Chinese and US data stoked worries of a slowdown in economic growth in the world's top oil consumers.
China's economic recovery unexpectedly stumbled in the first three months of 2013, with the annual rate of growth easing to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in the final quarter of last year. Economists had forecast 8 percent growth.
Prices fell across assets from commodity markets -- including oil, gold and copper -- to Asian shares following the release of the weaker-than-expected China data.
"The China data is going to have a major impact on an already weak commodity market," said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of commodity research firm BarrattBulletin.
"Generally the trend for commodities remains weak at the moment given that China is not performing the way we've always wanted it to perform, which suggests (prices are) coming under pressure."
Brent crude futures fell $1.71 to $101.40 a barrel by 0652 GMT, after earlier shedding $2.27 to hit $100.84 a barrel -- the lowest since early July 2012.
US crude futures also lost more than $2 to hit its lowest in over three months at $88.46 before recovering to $89.15 by 0652 GMT.
The China data followed a Friday report showing US retail sales contracted in March for the second time in three months, a sign the top oil-consuming economy may have stumbled at the end of the first quarter.
"I think oil needs to still find a bottom. I'm always leaning to the bullish side, but the US economic data hasn't been great lately and China faltering is unsettling," said Carl Larry, president of the Houston-based Oil Outlooks and Opinion.
"There's much more competition out there to sell a barrel of oil. Outside of OPEC, you have their neighbour Russia who's pushing its barrels too."
Also pushing down oil prices, China's implied oil demand fell to its lowest in seven months in March as big consumers held off from buying in anticipation of a cut in prices, while refiners scaled back crude runs and raised exports to trim high fuel stocks.
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