Brent crude futures fell by 1.4% to settle at $78.8 per barrel on Friday on the back of likelihood of a rise in OPEC+ supply starting in October. OPEC+ is expected to move forward with a planned oil output hike despite recent Libyan outages and production cuts by some members to offset overproduction.
In addition hopes for a significant US interest rate cut next month have been dashed after strong consumer spending data, this has also impacted Oil price downward.
China's crude oil import growth is expected to slow down considerably in 2024, with the annual growth rate dropping from 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to just 38,000 bpd in 2024. This slowdown is primarily attributed to the decreasing growth in refinery runs. Some oil traders even predict that China's crude oil imports may decline year-over-year in 2024.
Although there may be a slight increase in crude oil imports in the third quarter of 2024 due to peak demand season, overall crude oil imports are likely to decrease throughout the year. This is because the increasing use of electric vehicles and liquefied natural gas (LNG), coupled with improved energy efficiency, is expected to reduce demand for gasoline and diesel. Additionally, a sluggish economy is expected to further cap oil consumption in China. See this. and this news.