Oil dips

Singapore : Oil prices dipped on Wednesday after China reported relatively weak import data, although the market remained well supported by falling U.S. crude inventories and the introduction of sanctions against Iran.

Front-month Brent crude oil futures were at $74.50 per barrel at 0651 GMT, down 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close. U.S. WTI crude futures were at $69.15 per barrel, down 2 cents. China´s July crude oil imports recovered slightly in July after falling for the previous two months, but were still among the lowest this year due to a drop-off in demand from the country´s smaller independent, or "teapot", refineries. Shipments into the world´s biggest importer of crude came in at 36.02 million tonnes last month, or 8.48 million bpd, up from 8.18 million bpd a year ago, and just up on June´s 8.36 million bpd, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.