Asian demand for imported oil is set to slow for a second straight month in July, trade flow data showed on Monday, as economic growth starts to stutter amid an escalating trade dispute with the United States. Preliminary demand figures in Thomson Reuters Eikon, based on ordered tankers for July by major suppliers, show a sharp drop-off from June in a month that normally posts a small rise in cargoes, Reuters reported. Preliminary July orders are down 11% from June to 16.7 million barrels per day, taking the average for the three months from May to July to 19.3 million bpd. While still high, that’s below an average of 20.2 million bpd during the same months of last year and comparable to levels seen in 2016. The figures come on the back of reports of a slowdown in manufacturing growth and export orders in Asia’s main economic hub around China, Japan and South Korea, as trade tensions with the United States ratchet higher.
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