. Oil prices edged up on Friday after closing at their lowest in months in the previous session as oversupply and disappointing Chinese factory activity dragged on the market. Oil prices in the United States have slumped more than 20 percent in the past six weeks, a slide considered by many traders to constitute a bear market. The oil demand outlook dimmed further on Friday after a preliminary private survey showed factory activity in China’s struggling economy contracted by the most in 15 months in July. “Concerns around the demand environment were heightened further today by the PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) read out of China,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The lack of supply side response means that the downtrend looks to be […]