Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Oil prices dipped on August 14 as a slowdown in Chinese refining activity casts doubts over its crude demand outlook, while rising U.S. shale output suggested supplies would likely remain high.

Brent crude futures are at $51.92 per barrel and down 0.4 percent, from their last close, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures are at $48.70 a barrel, down 0.3 percent, Reuters reported.

The oil processing volumes in China slowed the growth rate in July. The National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China reported that Chinese plants increased oil refining in July by 0.4 percent in annual terms - to 45.5 million tons, or 10.71 million barrels per day.

Daily processing volumes were the lowest since September 2016, which, according to analysts, suggests a slowdown in the growth in oil demand, despite the IEA data.

"Runs were slightly below our expectations, as fuel demand growth remained tepid and stocks were brimming," said Harry Liu, a downstream consultant with IHS Markit.

Furthermore, the production of shale oil in the U.S. since December 2016 amounted to 300,000 barrels per day.

Last week, the number of oil drills in the U.S. increased by 3 units and reached 768, according to the report of the industrial service company Baker Hughes.

OPEC and other major oil producers such as Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan, and South Sudan reached an agreement in December 2016 to remove 1.8 million barrels a day from the market.

OPEC has decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

Next meeting of the OPEC Technical Committee will be held on August 21 in Vienna.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz