Oil falls to near year's lows on China demand worries - Reuters

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices slid connected Monday, falling adjacent to their lowest level this year, arsenic thoroughfare protests against strict COVID-19 curbs successful China, the world's biggest crude importer, stoked interest implicit the outlook for substance demand.

Brent crude dropped by $1.32, oregon 1.6%, to commercialized astatine $82.31 a tube astatine 10:48 a.m. ET (1548 GMT), having slumped much than 3% to $80.61 earlier successful the league for its lowest since Jan. 4.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 75 cents, oregon 1%, to $75.53 aft touching its lowest since Dec. 22 past twelvemonth astatine $73.60.

Both benchmarks, which deed 10-month lows past week, person posted 3 consecutive play declines.

Phil Flynn, an expert astatine Price Futures Group successful Chicago, said lipid was paring loses arsenic investors looked up to an OPEC+ gathering this weekend.

"We consciousness immoderate of the selling based connected reports of China uprisings was overdone," Flynn said. "Inventories are inactive adjacent grounds lows and this astir apt increases the likelihood of an OPEC accumulation cut."

China has stuck with President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID argumentation adjacent arsenic overmuch of the satellite has lifted astir restrictions.

Hundreds of demonstrators and constabulary clashed successful Shanghai connected Sunday nighttime arsenic protests implicit the restrictions flared for a 3rd time and dispersed to respective cities.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a radical known arsenic OPEC+, volition conscionable connected Dec. 4. In October, OPEC+ agreed to trim its output people by 2 cardinal barrels per time done 2023.

Meanwhile, Group of Seven (G7) and European Union diplomats person been discussing a terms headdress connected Russian lipid of betwixt $65 and $70 a barrel, with the purpose of limiting gross to money Moscow's subject violative successful Ukraine without disrupting planetary lipid markets.

However, EU governments were divided connected the level astatine which to headdress Russian lipid prices, with the interaction being perchance muted.

"Talks volition proceed connected a terms headdress but it seems it won't beryllium arsenic strict arsenic archetypal thought, to the constituent that it whitethorn beryllium borderline pointless," said Craig Erlam, elder markets expert astatine OANDA.

"The menace to Russian output from a $70 cap, for example, is minimal fixed it's selling astir those levels already."

The terms headdress is owed to travel into effect connected Dec. 5 erstwhile an EU prohibition connected Russian crude besides takes effect.

Reporting by Nia Williams Additional reporting by Noah Browning successful London, Yuka Obayashi successful Tokyo and Mohi Narayan successful New Delhi Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Marguerita Choy

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