Fears Of A Global Financial Meltdown Loom Over Oil Market

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Fears-Of-A-Global-Financial-Meltdown-Loom-Over-Oil-Markets.html

Oil prices received a jolt mid-week on rumors that OPEC+ might cut deeper and also because of a surprise drawdown in EIA inventory data. Nevertheless, economic cracks continue to dominate the narrative.
The latest string of downbeat economic data came from Germany, where its manufacturing sector seems to be stuck in negative territory. The IHS Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing PMI showed a slight uptick in October to 41.9, up from 41.7 in September, but below market expectations of 42. Anything below 50 is considered a contraction in activity, so the figures are rather staggering. The number for September was the worst reading since the financial crisis.

“Hopes of a return to growth in Germany in the final quarter have been somewhat dashed,” Phil Smith, an economist at IHS Markit, which produced the PMI data, told Bloomberg. “Perhaps most concerning are the signs of increasing strain on the domestic economy.” For the broader Eurozone, the IHS Markit Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 50.2 in October, which essentially means that economic activity, if not contracting, is stagnating across the continent.