Oil prices continue to decline as trade wars fuel fears of global economy – Agricultural raw materials

* The price drop of about 1% follows the fall of more than 3% Friday

* May experienced the largest decline in oil prices since November

* US trade wars with China and Mexico threaten growth – Goldman

* The increase in oil supply in the United States also weighs: tmsnrt.rs/2DwTUBQ

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell by more than 1 percent on Monday, dropping their losses by more than 3 percent from Friday, as crude markets posted their biggest monthly losses in six months , while demand stagnated, while trade wars feared a slowdown in the global economy.

Brent futures in the first month, the international benchmark for oil prices, was $ 60.97 at 00:44 GMT. It was 1.02 cents, or 1.7 percent, less than the closing of the last session.

The WTI futures price (West Texas Intermediate) was $ 52.71 per barrel, down 79 cents or 1.5%.

These declines followed a more than 3% fall in prices on Friday, making May the worst month for crude futures since last November.

Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA, New York futures futures broker, said the more than 10% drop in crude oil prices last month was "the worst performance in May." for seven years, as the escalation of the World War was clouding growth prospects. " .

While Moya warned that "geopolitical risks remain in place", he added that "oil remains vulnerable" due to weakening prospects for crude demand.

"The US-China quarrel remains the most critical for global growth prospects, but the addition of trade tensions between the United States and Mexico has resulted in slowing demand for the Americas," he said. .

Increase in the American offer

US bank Goldman Sachs said in a note published on Sunday that "escalating trade wars and weaker activity indicators have finally caught up with the sentiment of the oil market".

Brent crude oil prices fell nearly 20% from their peak in 2018 at the end of April.

"The magnitude and speed of the decline have been exacerbated by the growing concern over the strong growth in US production and rising inventories," said Goldman.

US energy companies this week increased the number of oil rigs in operation for the first time in four weeks, and C-OUT-T-EIA weekly output reached a record 12.3 million barrels per day ( bpd).

C-STK-T-EIA, which has grown 8.4% since the beginning of the year, has increased commercial crude oil inventories in the United States to 476.5 million barrels.

"With increasingly uncertain macroeconomic prospects, rising US production and a large base available capacity of OPEC, helping to offset the decline in supply from Iran and the United States. Venezuela, we expect prices to remain close to our forecasts for the third quarter and current levels, although prices remain high volatility, "said Goldman.

The bank's projected brent price for the third quarter of this year was $ 65.5 per barrel.