LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Chinese buying of Angolan and
Congolese crude was among the lowest of any recent trading
cycle, market sources said on Tuesday, while OPEC member Angola
has agreed to rein in output.
* Chinese state and independent refiners had still largely
held off on buying the heavier West African grades, though the
import quotas for the latter were not quite exhausted and could
provide some support.
* Angola has agreed with OPEC to comply fully with a global
pact on supply curbs and will compensate for previous
overproduction by cutting more from July to September, two OPEC
sources said. * Traders said the move was likely to be barely perceptible
in monthly volumes, with July output largely sold and a small
number of cargoes easily deferred from one month to the next.
* Only around 10 cargoes of Angolan crude remained to be
sold for export in August, but lack of Chinese demand has seen
some grades slip around 50 cents from a little over a week ago.
* Few products in major markets saw a decisive improvement
to refining margins, though improving gasoil margins in Europe
and Asia provided some support to generally slumping physical
crude prices.
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