Crude oil prices have fallen following weak economic data from China, despite higher oil imports in July.
Brent fell 19 cents at $48.42 a barrel, while the US crude dipped 18 cents at $43.69, Reuters reported.
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In July, China’s crude oil imports increased by 4.1% from June, but this was balanced by broader trade figures that highlighted a fall of 8.3% in exports.
Commerzbank in Frankfurt oil analyst Carsten Fritsch told the news agency: "The market is more focused on the general Chinese data, which is very weak… it seems that economic activity in China continues to slow down."
The slowdown in China’s economic activity is weighing on oil prices even though oil imports were very strong.
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Petromatrix Switzerland oil analyst Olivier Jakob noted that the supertanker Sea King set off from the UK two weeks ago for South Korea with North Sea Forties crude in July and is in Europe since then.
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