--China crude-oil imports slide to lowest level since
December
--IEA lowers 2013 global oil-demand forecast by 0.2 million
barrels a day
--Brent-WTI spread holds highest level since April, near $20
By Nicole Friedman
NEW YORK--Crude-oil futures slipped Friday as disappointing
Chinese data and a revised International Energy Agency forecast
fueled concerns about global oil demand.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery was recently down $1,
or 1.1%, at $92.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe fell $1.23, or 1.1%, to $111.99 a
barrel.
China's trade surplus fell to $25.1 billion in July, a drop from
June's $31.7 billion and well below the forecasted $35.2
billion.
China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, reported its
lowest level of crude-oil imports in nine months.
"The fact that oil imports are declining is very supportive of
the view that the main economic growth engine of the world is
actually slowing," said Dominick Chirichella, oil analyst with
Energy Management Institute, in a note to clients.
Worse-than-expected Chinese data have actually supported oil
prices in the past, as traders have hoped the poor metrics would
prompt the Chinese government to implement new stimulus measures to
boost economic growth. However, "the steady stream of negative news
out of not only China but the U.S. and Europe as well has become so
great that it is finally trumping stimulus-led expectations for
growth," brokerage Tradition Energy said in a note.
The IEA, an energy watchdog based in Paris, lowered its forecast
for 2012 global oil-demand growth to 0.8 million barrels a day from
one million barrels a day.
The monthly report, released Friday, incorporates new 2010
non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data
showing demand was weaker than previous thought, especially in
China, Russia and the Middle East.
But because the new data adjust the baseline demand levels, the
statistics are difficult to compare with past reports, said
Barclays analyst Miswin Mahesh in a note to clients.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark traded on
Nymex, is currently priced at $19.75 a barrel below Brent--its
biggest discount to the European benchmark since April. Supply
concerns have boosted Brent, as scheduled maintenance in the North
Sea is expected to lead to a decline in loadings in the short
term.
However, "the current width of the spread is hard to justify
based on oil market fundamentals and is likely to be only a
short-term phenomenon," said JBC Energy, forecasting the price
difference would narrow by the end of the year.
Front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB,
recently fell 1.70 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.9838 a gallon. September
heating oil fell 2.21 cents, or 0.7%, at $3.0229 a gallon.
Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@dowjones.com