BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The international oil price has encountered a new round of decline since May this year due to high inventories and global trade disputes, reported the Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday.
According to the report, as of the close on May 31, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil main contract closed at 53.40 U.S. dollars/barrel, down 5 percent day on day, 8.9 percent week on week and 16.5 percent month on month, while the Brent crude oil main contract closed at 61.76 U.S. dollars/barrel, down 5 percent day on day, 10 percent week on week and 14.3 percent month on month.
The basically-stablized output contraction of curde oil in May and the global trade disputes had led to the significant fall of the oil price recently, Qiu Xuan, a senior engineer with China Petroleum Planning and Engineering Institute of PetroChina Company Limited, a large oil and gas producer and distributor in China, told the Shanghai Securities News.
Because of the negative influence posed on the global economy by the global trade disputes, investors worry that the demand growth of crude oil will slow down, putting pressure on the oil price, noted Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy with Saxo Bank in Denmark.
The high inventories of crude oil in the United States has intensified the bearish sentiment that permeates the market.
According to data unveiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on May 30, from May 18 to 24, the commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. decreased by around 300,000 barrels, which is much lower than market expectations. Besides, its daily average output of crude oil increased by 100,000 barrels to 12.3 million barrels in the same period.
However, in Qiu's opinion, the falling international oil price will help big energy importers like China reduce the import costs.
Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed that China had imported 165 million metric tons (tonnes) of crude oil from January to April this year, up 8.9 percent year on year, with the average import price rising by 0.9 percent year on year to 3,145.5 yuan/tonne.
According to market expectations, the price of the refined oil in China might be cut as international oil price continues to fall. As of the end of May 31, the comprehensive rate of change of crude oil was -4.12 percent, and the price of refined oil in China might be reduced by 190 yuan/tonne accordingly, predicted OilChem China, a provider of energy and chemical information and market price index in China. (Edited by Gu Shanshan)
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