RoydadNaft –  Oil prices eased in trading on Monday as fears of weaker demand in top oil importer China weighed on market sentiment while investors focused on the progress of ceasefire talks in the Middle East, which could reduce supply risks.

Brent crude futures dropped 45 cents, or 0.56%, to $79.23 per barrel by 0646 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid 58 cents, or 0.76%, to $76.07 a barrel.

“Persistent concerns about slow demand in China led to a sell-off,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities, adding another factor was the approaching end of the peak driving season in the United States.

On Thursday, data also showed China’s economy lost momentum in July, with new home prices falling at the fastest pace in nine years, industrial output slowing and unemployment rising.

That has stoked worries among traders about a slump in demand from China, where refineries sharply cut crude processing rates last month on tepid fuel demand.

The mediating countries – Qatar, the United States and Egypt – have so far failed to narrow enough differences to reach an agreement in months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.