09:08 AM EDT, 09/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices weakened early on Tuesday with the market again focusing on demand concerns as China's economy weakens, with OPEC lowering its demand forecast for a second-straight month, even as Tropical Storm Francine forces the closure of some Gulf of Mexico platforms, cutting into supply.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for October delivery was last seen down US$0.64 to US$68.07 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down US$0.67 to US$71.17.

Oil moved higher on Monday following five losing sessions that pushed prices down by 11%. However the release of China's August economic data, showing producer-price disinflation as its economy slows, countered any lingering optimism.

"The message from China is simple but loud and reverberates throughout the globe. The country keeps struggling to incentivize spending and sluggish aggregate demand ensured that industrial producer prices fell by a forecast-beating 1.8% last month whilst consumer prices inflated 0.6%, below analysts' expectations. Overnight data was equally disheartening: August exports exceeded expectation, imports underwhelmed, and the purchase of foreign crude oil dropped 7% on the year," PVM Oil Associates noted.

In its Monthly Oil Market Report released Tuesday, OPEC a lowered its forecast for 2024 demand growth to 2.03-million barrels per day over year-prior levels, down from its September forecast for a rise of 2.11-million. It also lowered its 2025 demand forecast by 40,000 bpd to 1.9-million bpd.

The Energy Information Administration will update its global demand forecast later on Tuesday with the release of its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook.

The pessimism over demand is countering supply concerns as Tropical Storm Francine moves through the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to strengthen to a hurricane today, ahead of making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday. Reuters reported Exxon Mobil (XOM) has evacuated one of its gulf platforms, while Shell (SHEL) has closed two platforms and Chevron (CVX) is also shutting in two platforms.