China’s total imports fell 12.4% in July
Singapore – Reuters
Posted on: August 08, 2023: 08:19 AM GST Last updated: August 08, 2023: 11:15 AM GST
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after data showed that imports and exports from China fell much more than expected in July, in another sign of weak growth in the world’s largest oil importer, although losses were limited due to expected tight supplies.
Brent crude futures fell to $85.05 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.34%, at 06:41 GMT, while West Texas crude hit $81.69 a barrel, down 25 cents, or 0.31%.
Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that oil imports to China in July amounted to 43.69 million tons, or 10.29 million barrels per day. That was 18.8% lower than imports in June, but still up 17% from a year ago.
At the same time, China’s total imports fell 12.4% and exports fell 14.5% from a year earlier. The pace of decline in exports was the fastest since February 2020 and worse than analysts had expected.
Despite the grim data, some analysts remain positive about the outlook for fuel demand in China from August to early October as crude oil processing rates remained elevated.
CMC Markets analyst Leon Lee said the peak season for construction and manufacturing activity starts in September, and gasoline consumption should benefit from summer travel demand. He added that demand is expected to gradually decrease after October.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, said it will extend a voluntary cut in oil production by one million barrels per day for another month to include September, adding that it may extend the cut beyond that or make a larger production cut after September.
Russia also said it would cut its oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day in September.
#Oil #Prices #Oil #prices #due #weak #trade #data #China
2023-08-08 07:15:45
