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Oil market battles weak demand, ample supplies
[ARABNEWS] Saudi crude exports fell in August for the fourth month in a row to their lowest levels in three years, official data showed on Monday, as the top oil exporter fights for market share amid weak demand and ample supplies from rival producers.Saudi crude exports have been sliding in the past few months as shale oil squeezes Saudi oil out of US markets and as demand in Asia, particularly in China, has been slower than expected. The OPEC heavyweight exported 6.663 million barrels per day in August, down from 6.989 million bpd in July, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). The August export figures were the lowest since March 2011 and down from 7.795 million in August last year. They compared with 6.946 million bpd in June and 6.987 million bpd in May. North America's shale boom has started to squeeze Saudi oil out of the US market, the International Energy Agency said in a report last month, estimating Saudi exports would run below 7 million bpd for the last four months of the year. US imports of crude oil from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... averaged around 1.0-1.2 million bpd from May to August, compared with around 1.3-1.6 million bpd from mid-2013 through April 2014, analysis of data from the US Energy Information Administration and Thomson Rooters Trade Flows shows. Posted by: Fred 2014-10-21 |
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