Black commodities traded higher although gains recorded were limited following concerns over global demand following disappointing data readings from China.
In the European session, Brent crude futures traded steady at $ 76.59 a barrel, while US WTI was slightly down at $ 75.18 a barrel.
China’s crude oil imports fell 3% from January to June from a year earlier, the first contraction since 2013, as lack of import quotas, factory maintenance and rising global prices constrained purchases.
However, a reading of US crude oil supply data showing a continued decline to some extent helped support the strengthening of oil prices.
According to a report released by the American Petroleum Institution (API), crude oil inventories fell by 4.1 million barrels last week, making it a decline for the eighth consecutive week.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the oil market will tend to be unstable until there is clarity on OPEC+production policy. Discussions between producer members stalled last week causing production in August to be expected to remain at current levels.
