The price of oil fell slightly today amid growing worries that China's decision to clamp down on informal lending could hamper growth in a major energy-consuming country.
In Europe, benchmark oil for August delivery was down 13 cents to $93.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.71 to close at $93.69 on Friday.
Brent crude was down 44 cents to $100.47 in afternoon trading.
Analysts say the spike late last week in China's interbank lending rate to over 13% was part of an effort to trim off-balance-sheet lending that could threaten the financial stability of the world's second-largest economy.
But markets feared the move could also hurt economic growth.
China's major state-owned banks are unwilling to lend to any but their biggest clients, so the vast majority of smaller businesses must rely on informal lending. Signs of an economic slowdown are already visible in the world's number two economy.
Last week, a private survey showed manufacturing in China contracted at a faster pace in June to a nine-month low. Moreover, Chinese economic growth slowed unexpectedly in the first quarter to 7.7% and forecasters have cut their growth outlook for the year.
Asian and European stock markets fell, and oil prices moved along with them. A stronger dollar also hurt oil prices, making crude more expensive for traders using other currencies. The euro was below $1.31 today after peaking above $1.34 last week.
Analysts said concerns about Middle East conflicts like the civil war in Syria, which pushed crude up to near $99 last week, were temporarily less in focus.
