Chinese sell-off spooks oil traders


chinese sell off spooks oil investorsOil traders have been selling off the precious crude Monday, as a steep sell-off of China's benchmark index raised concerns over the current state of both the Chinese and U.S. economies.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite Index took a beating to start off the week, trading down 6.74%, and raised fresh concerns over a global economic rebound. Today's sell off in the Chinese market was its biggest decline since June of 2008. The sell-off comes on the heels of a near 3% drop in the index last Friday.


Traders in China turned bearish today following news from Beijing-based Caijing magazine that indicated that the mainland's banks' lending this month was probably going to be just about half of the levels from July.

Japan is also showing signs that its recovery may be a bit more rocky than previously expected. The country announced that its manufacturers increased output in June by the smallest amount in the past four months, a sign that the positive effects from global stimulus efforts may be waning.

The fears created out of China today spooked oil traders which pushed oil prices below the psychological $70 barrier. Prices are currently down $3.07 a barrel to $69.67.

Oil has been in a pretty solid trading range for the past month between $70 and $75 barrel

Large oil inventories continue to be a major concern for OPEC member states, and will certainly be a major topic of discussion when it meets next month. So far, all indications are pointing to the group maintaining its current production levels.

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