As of 21:20 on August 31 (Vietnam time), oil prices fell by 2.43 USD (-3.34%) to 70.31 USD per barrel. This marked the first decline in the last three trading sessions on the New York exchange.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, inventories of distilled oil products (including diesel and heating oil) by the end of last week rose to a four-week high of 162.4 million barrels. This level is close to the record set in 1983.
Meanwhile, the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) limited production cuts for the first time in seven months—an indication that OPEC members may be exceeding their set production targets.
Oil prices also dropped due to weakening recovery signals from Asia’s two largest oil-consuming economies, Japan and China. In Japan, manufacturers’ output in July grew at the slowest pace in four months, as the effects of global economic stimulus packages and stockpile release campaigns began to fade.
(Vietnamnet 1/9)
