2022.05.1610:08:00UTC+00Oil Prices Slip On Growth Worries

Oil prices slipped on Monday as shockingly weak data out of China revived fears of a global recession. Profit taking after sharp gains in the previous session also weighed on prices.

Benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.6 percent to $110.89 a barrel in European trade, while U.S. crude futures traded 0.6 percent lower at $107.98.

Both benchmarks jumped around 4 percent on Friday amid fears of supply shortage following a reduction in flows of Russian refined products such as diesel, fuel oil and naphtha.

Data showed earlier in the day that China's retail sales sank 11.1 percent in April year-on-year and industrial output also fell a steep 2.9 percent, raising concerns about a deepening slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

China, the world's largest importer of oil, processed 11 percent less crude in April than a year earlier, with daily throughput falling to the lowest since March 2020.

The dire data overshadowed news that Shanghai authorities were aiming to reopen and allow normal life to resume from Jun 1.

Meanwhile, the European Union's top diplomat says there is no guarantee that the 27-nation bloc will be able to quickly agree on a new set of sanctions against Russia.

"We will do our best in order to deblock the situation. I cannot ensure that it is going to happen because positions are quite strong," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reportedly said.