The price of oil fell below $93 per barrel Thursday after a survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading, AP reported. Benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1.37 to $92.91 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract declined $1.90 to close at $94.28 a barrel on Wednesday. Stock markets in Asia fell sharply and Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged more than 7 percent as a spike higher in government bond yields and the Chinese data sparked a correction that traders said was inevitable given the benchmark's remarkable 50 percent gain this year before Thursday's plunge. Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oil varieties, dropped $1.25 to $101.35 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. In other energy futures trading on Nymex: - Wholesale gasoline fell 2.2 cents to $2.791 a gallon. - Heating oil lost 3 cents to $2.838 a gallon. - Natural gas rose 2.3 cents to $4.215 per 1,000 cubic feet.
