Oil prices off slightly after China stock market decline

Crude oil prices moved slightly downward Monday, after a sharp decline in China's stock market and continuing concerns regarding an excess of oil in the world market.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark of light sweet crude oil, declined 0.71 percent to $47.43 per barrel Monday. Brent crude oil prices declined to $53.51 per barrel, a drop of 1.09 percent.

The figures are down from their 2015 highs of $61.30 per barrel for WTI, set in June, and $66.33 per barrel for Brent crude, set in May.

The Wall Street Journal reported that because oil prices are maintaining new lows, with prices down by over half since early 2014, U.S. energy companies are planning to cut more jobs and sell more. It noted drilling companies Halliburton and Baker Hughes have now cut more than twice the number of jobs, about 27,000 in total, they announced in February.