China to Import Large Volumes of US Oil In August and September

Global oil prices steady on Monday following a report that China planned to import large volumes of United States crude oil in the months of August and September to ease the tensions between the two world’s largest economies.

The Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is measured, remained steady at around $44.9 per barrel at about 2:53 pm Nigerian time on Monday.

While the U.S West Texas Intermediate oil traded at about $42 per barrel.

The decision to increase imports by the world’s largest importer of the commodity would have necessitated a bigger move in price under normal situation, however, the weak global demand for crude oil due to a decline in the global economy continues to weigh on the oil market.

“Clearly the market is not tightening as quickly as initially anticipated. Demand is taking longer than expected to get back to normal levels,” ING Group said.

Experts have said the Chinese government adopted the new strategy to calm the ongoing tensions between the United States and the Republic of China ahead of the US election due in November.

This, coupled with the agreement reached by the two nations to delayed the review of their Phase 1 trade deal initially scheduled for Saturday bolstered market sentiment on Monday.