Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Monday as market sentiment was affected by concerns over weak demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer, while investors focused on progress in ceasefire talks in the Middle East, which could reduce supply risks. As of 00:32 GMT, Brent crude futures fell by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.55 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.52 per barrel. Both benchmark contracts fell 2% in Friday’s trading as investors tempered their expectations for demand growth from China, but they ended the week largely unchanged from the previous week after a set of U.S. data last week showed a slowdown in inflation and strong retail spending. Hiroyuki Kikukawa, President of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities, said, “Ongoing concerns about slowing demand in China have led to a wave of selling,” adding that another factor is the approaching end of the summer driving season in the U.S. “Tensions in the Middle East and the escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which pose supply risks, support the market,” he added. Data from China on Thursday showed that its economy lost momentum in July, with new home prices falling at the fastest pace in nine years, slowing industrial production, and rising unemployment rates. This raised concerns among traders about declining demand from China, as refineries sharply reduced crude processing rates last month due to weak fuel demand.