Economic slowdown weighs on oil market

Oil prices dropped below $114 a barrel as investors speculated slowing economic growth in the world's largest economies will continue to undermining global crude demand.

Europe's biggest economies -- Germany, France and Italy -- all contracted in the second quarter. Japan said this week its gross domestic product also shrank in the April-June period. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a bigger-than-expected drop in gasoline supplies, but also said U.S. demand for refined fuel products continues to fall.

Read this Businessweek article.

Germany's Sinking Economy

After three years of economic growth and job creation, the Germany economy is starting to upend. Although the industrial sector may still have orders to fill, there is a dearth of new orders coming in at the moment, turnover is declining and profits sinking.

The speed with which the economy is deteriorating is almost unprecedented -- with economists not having seen it go down this fast in years. During the second quarter, Germany had shrinkage of between 0.7 and 1.5 percent, government experts estimate. If the trend continues during the current quarter, then Germany will meet the technical definition for a recession.

Source: Der Spiegel.