WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were moving lower on Wednesday after data showed a drop in China's first-half crude imports.
Brent crude futures for September delivery dropped 0.7 percent to $75.97 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $74.76 a barrel.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday that imports into the world's top crude oil importer for the first half of 2021 totaled 260.66 million tons, or about 10.51 million bpd, down about 3 percent from last year.
The possibility of a market share battle, even if remote, is hanging over markets, the International Energy Agency warned on Tuesday amid the OPEC+ impasse and rising coronavirus infections in several countries around the world.
Industry data showing a weekly fall in inventories offered some support to the market.
The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories declined by 4.1 million barrels for the week ended July 9.
The report also showed a decline of nearly 1.6 million barrels for gasoline stockpiles and an increase of 3.7 million barrels for distillate inventories.
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