LONDON—Oil prices dropped on Monday as weak manufacturing data from China and Japan weighed on the demand outlook while investors braced for this week’s meeting of officials from OPEC and other top crude producers on supply adjustments.
Brent crude futures were down $1.42, or 1.4 percent, at $102.55 a barrel by 1017 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.85, or 1.9 percent, at $96.77.
Fresh COVID-19 lockdowns snuffed out a brief recovery for factory activity in China, the world’s largest crude oil importer. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) eased to 50.4 in July from 51.7 the previous month, well below analyst expectations, data showed on Monday….