Oil prices have fallen to a six-week low after China said that it’s planning a release of crude from its strategic reserves.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil declined 0.6% after earlier falling as much as 1.6%. The move follows a virtual summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping earlier this week in which energy supplies were discussed.
With the global economy gripped by rising levels of inflation, key oil consumers are trying to bring down prices.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said this week that some of current tightness in the market is starting to ease as global production picks up, and the volume of oil being transported at sea has picked up sharply in recent weeks.
China tapped its national crude stockpiles earlier this year in an effort to bring domestic prices down, and also made a private sale from the reserves.
WTI fell 0.6% to $77.91 U.S. a barrel in London trading. Brent crude oil lost 0.3% to $80.06 U.S. a barrel.
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