Benchmark crude oil prices eased in early electronic trading on 3 September, after Chinese data indicated a continuing economic slowdown, with implications for oil demand. However, prices remain underpinned by hopes for further economic stimulus in the US and Europe, after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hinted on 31 August that additional monetary easing was a possibility. This pushed WTI $1.85/B higher to settle at $96.47/B that day, while Brent ended $1.92/B higher at $114.57/B.