Soaring fuel exports from China add to downward pressure on oil prices

China's customs data released on Monday showed that China's diesel, gasoline and kerosene exports surged in July from a year earlier. Data showed that China's Diesel exports rose 181.8 percent to 1.53 million tonnes, gasoline shipments were up 145 percent at 970,000 tonnes and kerosene exports jumped 46 percent to 1.09 million tonnes.

China's imports of liquefied natural gas fell 16.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.6 million tonnes while its purchases of foreign kerosene increased by 15.2 percent to 340,000 tonnes.

Soaring exports of refined products from China pressured oil prices which fell on Monday. Doubts that the upcoming producer talks would rein in oversupply also added to the pressure on prices. US oil was down 1.77 percent on the day, trading at 47.68 per brl as of 10:40 GMT.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers like Russia are set to meet in September to discuss a freeze in output levels in order to rein in oversupply. "An agreement was "highly unlikely" and there were "too many headwinds and logistical challenges to a meaningful deal", said Morgan Stanley in a report.