OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2012. China's demand for West African crude oil for July is expected to fall to the lowest level this year following refinery run cuts there, a Reuters survey of traders showed on Monday, amid a sharp sell-off in benchmark Brent crude futures.

China, the world's top energy consumer, has purchased about 29 cargoes, or 889,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, for loading in July from West African countries. Angola accounts for the bulk of the volume. The volume is down about 12 percent from June and the lowest since December last year, according to Reuters data.

Total West African exports to Asia will fall to 1.5 million barrels per day, also the lowest since December, the survey showed. Traders said Chinese companies resold some July cargoes, which they had bought earlier, on the spot market.

China's top refiner, Sinopec Corp, will cut crude throughput by close to 236,000 barrels per day in July versus an earlier target, curbing production for a second straight month as inventories bulged and margins contracted, industry and trading sources said in June. The cut would represent 5 percent of the 4.5 million bpd throughput target the refiner set in March for 2012.