Oil Drops Below $32

Crude oil prices slipped below the $32 a barrel mark on Monday in the wake of worries about oversupply and weakening demand in China. February West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.75 to end trade at $31.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On the London ICE Futures Exchange, February Brent crude lost $2 to settle at $31.55 a barrel.

Traders are watching the Chinese economy like a hawk. They also are looking for signs of production to slow in the U.S. as supply approaches record levels.

February natural gas slipped 7.6 cents on Monday. The New York Mercantile Exchange contract settled at $2.396 per million British thermal units.