HOUSTON: Oil futures fell on Friday and were on track for a weekly drop of eight per cent after data showed China’s economic growth slowed and refinery output shrank for the sixth consecutive month.

Brent crude futures fell $1.69, or 2.27pc, to $72.74 a barrel by 11:09am EDT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.95 a barrel, down $1.72 or 2.43pc.

Both benchmarks are on track to fall by around 8pc this week, their biggest weekly decline since Sept 2, when Opec and the International Energy Agency cut their forecasts for global oil demand in 2024 and 2025.

In China, the world’s top oil importer, the economy grew at the slowest pace since early 2023 in the third quarter, though consumption and industrial output figures for September beat forecasts.

China’s refinery output declined for the sixth straight month as thin refining margins and weak fuel consumption curbed processing.

“We cannot ignore the impact of electric vehicles in China,” said Neil Atkinson, Paris-based independent energy analyst and former head of the oil division at the IEA.

“There are various factors at play here, economic weakness in China but also the move towards the electrification of transport,” Atkinson added.

Electric vehicle sales in China jumped 42pc in August and reached a record high of over one million vehicles.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024