Oil Prices Dip on Weak Chinese Economic Data

Crude oil prices started this week with a dip after a series of economic reports from China released towards the end of last week suggested weakening oil demand. These included new home prices, which were down palpably, industrial output, which appeared to be slowing, and unemployment figures inching higher. The reports pushed the benchmarks to a weekly loss despite expectations of a gain and the loss extended into this week. On the bullish side, the situation in the Middle East remains a leading factor as does the escalation between Russia and…