OREANDA-NEWS. Crude futures were mixed today, with Ice Brent falling to a six-month low amid volatile Chinese stock markets.

The Ice Brent contract fell by 17?/bl to $53.30/bl, its lowest settle since the 30 January close of $52.99/bl. Brent has lost 21pc since its highest settlement of the year of $67.77/bl on 6 May.

The Nymex light, sweet contract settled up by 59?/bl to $47.98/bl, ending four straight sessions of losses. The contract had dropped under $47/bl earlier in the session to an intraday low of $46.68/bl but recovered those losses and moved higher before the end of the session.

The Brent-WTI spread narrowed by 76? to $5.32/bl.

The Brent price drop today followed volatility in Chinese financial markets, which raised concerns over future demand for commodities, such as oil. China is one of the largest oil importers in the world. China's stock markets continued to decline today, after share prices yesterday suffered their sharpest one-day loss in eight years.

But expectations that the US may report a weekly draw in stockpiles likely tempered losses and boosted WTI. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release fresh inventory data tomorrow.

Despite the upward movement today, WTI prices have declined steadily over the past four weeks, amid signs of a continuing supply glut.

Nymex RBOB futures fell by 1.72?/USG to $1.8032/USG. Ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) increased by 0.88?/USG to $1.6044/USG. ULSD yesterday had dropped to its lowest settle since mid-July 2009.