US, Brent crude futures stabilise after negative turn

China's crude imports from Saudi to remain depressed

By Reuters

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Published: Mon 21 Aug 2023, 7:49 PM

Crude oil futures stabilised on Monday after briefly turning negative following gains of more than $1 earlier in the session, as markets weighed supply tightness against expectations of slow demand growth, particularly from China.

Brent crude was up 14 cents to $84.94 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 18 cents at $81.43 a barrel at1443GMT.


Market sentiment still anticipated prices would move upward given the tight supplies and threats from storms and hurricanes, said Dennis Kissler, vice president of trading at BOK Financial.

“The wild card going forward is when will China’s weakening economy begin to ease crude demand,” Kissler said.

Both front-month benchmark prices snapped a seven-week winning streak last week with a weekly loss of 2 per cent on concern that China’s sluggish economic growth will curb oil demand, while the possibility of further increases to US interest rate also overshadows the demand outlook.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia’s July shipments to China fell 31 per cent from June while Russia, with its discounted crude, remained the Asian giant’s largest supplier, Chinese customs data showed.

China’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia are expected to remain depressed through the third quarter, analysts said.

China is drawing on record inventories amassed earlier this year as refiners scale back purchases after prices were driven above $80 a barrel by supply cuts implemented by the Opec+ group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and allies including Russia.

“We still see a tight oil balance for the remainder of the year, which suggests that prices still have some room to run higher,” said Warren Patterson, ING’s head of commodities research, adding that the dollar was also providing support.

A weaker dollar makes oil purchases less expensive for holders of other currencies, potentially boosting demand.


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