Crude oil prices slipped on Friday as demand growth worries resurfaced after China reported its weakest factory growth in more than two years.
According to the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's manufacturing sector was stagnant in November. The manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 50.0 for the month, falling short of expectations for a score of 50.2.
The bureau also said the non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 53.4 - also shy of expectations for 53.8 and down from 53.9 in the previous month. The composite index posted a score of 52.8, down from 53.1 a month earlier.
The U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Jinping are expected to meet on Saturday, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The U.S.-China trade war has resulted in a setback to global economic growth and a further escalation of disputes between the two countries could hurt global growth very badly.
According to reports, Trump said he was close to doing something on trade with Beijing but is not sure if he wanted to do it.
If the leaders of the two countries fail to reach a deal, then tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Chinese imports will rise to 25%, from the existing levy of 15%.
Crude oil futures for January settled at $50.93 a barrel, down $0.52, or 1%. Oil prices slipped to a low of $49.65 intraday. For the week, crude oil futures gained about 1%.
Rising crude output from the U.S. that saw crude stockpiles in the world's largest economy rising for ten straight weeks continues to weigh on the commodity.
According to recent reports, Russia, the second largest producer of crude oil, is likely to agree on a production cut in the upcoming OPEC and non-OPEC producers meet in Vienna next week.
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