Crude oil prices fell at the start of trading earlier in the week, extending last week’s losses amid weak US economic data and coronavirus cases that continue to show up around the world.
Ahead of the European session, the benchmark Brent crude traded lower at $ 54.70 a barrel, while the US WTI declined at $ 52.09 a barrel.
Both benchmarks recorded a 2.3% decline in Friday's trading session after witnessing the release of retail sales data and lower US consumer sentiment.
The release of strong economic data from China, failed to stimulate rising oil prices today. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, much better than expected to increase by 6.2% and follow a growth of 4.9% in the third quarter.
Overall, China's GDP rose 2.3% by 2020, making the country the only major economy in the world showing growth during the pandemic crisis.
However, recent news from China, which has reportedly reported the highest daily Covid-19 case spike in the last 10 months, has raised concerns over the black commodity market which could be affected if the world's largest oil importer is closed again.
