Page 2 - Repi Storage News Today

Oil prices fell about 2% to a one-week low on Thursday as a political standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling stoked recession jitters in the world's biggest oil consumer, while rising U.S. jobless claims and weak Chinese economic data weighed.

Chinese customs authorities are stepping up inspection checks on cargoes of heavy crude oil after uncovering several Iranian shipments that were mislabelled as diluted bitumen in an effort to bypass import quotas.

Oil prices fell on Monday as jitters over the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates, which could slow growth and hit fuel demand, and worries about weaker Chinese manufacturing data combined to erase earlier gains.

Saudi Arabia's stock market ended higher on Sunday in response to Friday's rise in oil prices, while the Egyptian index was in the red on profit-taking.

Oil prices posted mild gains on Friday, but headed for a second week of declines as disappointing U.S. economic data and uncertainty over further interest rate hikes weighed on the demand outlook.

Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, finding some support after heavy losses in the previous two sessions that were driven by fears of a U.S. recession and an increase in Russian oil exports which dulled the impact of OPEC production cuts.

Residual fuel oil stocks at key trading hub Singapore fell to four-week lows, with net imports easing by 19% after jumping last week, official data showed on Thursday.

Cuba increasingly is turning to Russia and Mexico for oil to ease an acute shortage of diesel and gasoline and supplement dwindling supplies of Venezuelan crude and fuel, according to shipping data and sources.

Oil prices eased for the third straight day on Friday and looked set for a hefty weekly loss as softening U.S. economic data and a rise in U.S. gasoline inventories raised concerns about a recession and slower global oil demand.

U.S. crude oil inventories last week fell more than forecast as refinery runs and exports rose, while gasoline stockpiles jumped unexpectedly on disappointing demand, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.