Crude-oil futures continued to drop in Asian trade Tuesday as market sentiment remained bearish, with more data showing a further slowdown in China’s manufacturing sector. Oil prices have now fallen around 47%-48% since their peak in June this year, their largest drop since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The slump in oil prices is having a ripple effect across financial markets and economies, and market participants are still unsure of where prices will bottom. China’s manufacturing sector showed a decline as HSBC’s China flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for December slid to a seven-month low of 49.5 compared with 50.0 in November. “With China PMI lower than expected, we would need U.S. and E.U. manufacturing PMI to perform exceptionally well, or else [oil] prices would likely continue on its descent,” analyst Daniel Ang at Phillip Futures said. He said weak manufacturing data from other regions could cause […]