SINGAPORE: Oil prices eased in Asian trade Monday after China's 2013 economic growth came in at its slowest rate in 14 years, fuelling concerns over demand in the world's second largest economy.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery, was down 67 cents at $93.70 a barrel in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for March dropped 15 cents to $106.33.
China said Monday gross domestic product grew 7.7 percent last year, the same as 2012 and in line with a median forecast in a survey of 14 economists by AFP. It also beat the government's official target of 7.5 percent.
Growth for the October-December quarter also came in at 7.7 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, slowing from 7.8 percent in the previous three months.
Kenny Kan, market analyst at CMC Markets, said the Chinese data "painted a dimmer picture for the energy sector".
French lender Credit Agricole said the slowdown in quarter-on-quarter growth was overstated "due to lower number of working days" than in the previous three months.
China is the world's biggest energy-consuming nation and the health of its economy is closely watched by oil traders.
Kan said oil prices also were under pressure over concerns about a oversupply in the United States.
Ali Al Naimi, the Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday said the OPEC cartel kingpin is unconcerned by a boom in US shale oil production.
"The kingdom welcomes this new source of energy that helps fulfill the growing world demand for energy, and helps stabilise oil markets," state news agency SPA quoted Naimi as saying.
In October, oil production in the United States surpassed imports for the first time in nearly two decades, helped mainly by production from newly tapped shale-based reserves.
CMC's Kan said trading was expected to remain thin for the rest of Monday as US markets are closed for a public holiday.
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