Investing.com - Oil futures turned lower in volatile trade on Monday, after data showed that manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at the slowest pace in 11 months in January, fuelling concerns over the health of the economy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in March shed 15 cents, or 0.31%, to trade at $48.09 a barrel during U.S. morning hours.
Prices lost as much as 3.23%, or $1.56, to hit a session low of $46.68 a barrel, before rallying 3.65%, or $1.83, to touch a daily high $50.07.
Oil turned lower after the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 53.5 last month from a reading of 55.5 in December. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to decline to 54.5 in January.
The disappointing data came after the Commerce Department said that personal spending fell 0.3% in December, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.2%.
Meanwhile, in China, data released earlier showed that the final China HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index ticked down to 49.7 in January from a preliminary reading of 49.8. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged.
Over the weekend, government data showed that China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index slipped to a two-year low of 49.8 in January, below expectations for a reading of 50.2 and down from 50.1 in December.
The gauge contracted for the first time since September 2012, adding pressure on policymakers to stimulate a faltering economy.
The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consuming nations.
On Friday, New York-traded oil futures surged $3.71, or 8.33%, to settle at $48.24, amid indications U.S. producers may be pulling back on new production in response to low prices.
Industry research group Baker Hughes said Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by 94, or 7%, last week to 1,223, the lowest since October 2013.
The number of oil rigs has declined in 13 of the last 16 weeks since hitting an all-time high of 1,609 in mid-October.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for March delivery slumped 9 cents, or 0.16%, to trade at $52.91 a barrel. Futures traded in a wide range between 451.42 and $55.39 a barrel.
London-traded Brent rallied $3.86, or 7.86%, on Friday to end at $52.99.
Oil prices have fallen nearly 60% since June as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut in global supplies.