Chevron Corp ( CVX ) shares are trading lower by 1.13% to $147.59 since Monday’s open as fresh economic data from China highlights slowing economic growth, raising concerns about global energy demand.

What Is Affecting Oil Prices?: The National Bureau of Statistics reported weaker-than-expected November retail sales, which rose just 3% year-on-year compared to 4.8% in October and missing economists' forecasts of 5.3%.

Additionally, property investment plunged 10.4% for the year through November, underscoring ongoing struggles in China's real estate sector—a key driver of energy-intensive construction activity.

Read Also: Financial Stocks Near Record Year: Could Trump Deregulation Fuel Bigger Gains In 2025?

China is a critical market for global oil and gas consumption, and any sustained slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy could dent demand for Chevron’s products. The energy giant, which derives a significant portion of its revenue from upstream oil and natural gas operations, relies on robust demand to maintain profitability.

Industrial production grew 5.4% in November, slightly above October’s 5.3%, suggesting limited near-term momentum for energy consumption. Furthermore, the weak performance of China's property sector compounds worries, as construction activity is heavily reliant on oil and gas.

Prolonged economic uncertainty could weigh on global oil prices, posing risks to Chevron’s revenue and earnings.

Read Also: What’s Going On With Exxon Mobil Stock?

How To Buy CVX Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Chevron ( CVX ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon.com, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Chevron ( CVX ), which is trading at $147.51 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.68 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, CVX has a 52-week high of $167.11 and a 52-week low of $135.37.