Oil prices fall after China devalues yuan

Oil prices slumped on Tuesday following a jump in the previous session, as China devalued its yuan currency after a run of poor economic data that underscored the market view that fundamentals are too weak to warrant higher oil prices. Crude oil futures jumped almost 4 per cent on Monday. On Tuesday, industry data showed auto sales in China fell 7.1 per cent in July from a year earlier to 1.5 million vehicles, their biggest decline since February 2013. But overall 7-month growth this year still stood slightly above 2014 figures. As a result, front-month Brent futures LCOc1 were at $50.10 a barrel at 0632 GMT, down 31 cents from their last close. US crude CLc1 fell 39 cents to $44.57, according to Reuters.

-SRS