Tuesday saw a 1% decline in oil prices following data that showed China's imports and exports declined far more than anticipated in July, providing yet another indication of a sluggish post-COVID recovery for the largest oil consumer in the world.

Brent crude futures slipped around 1.1%, at $84.41 meanwhile US WTI crude dipped 1.1% at $81.06 per barrel.

According to figures released on Tuesday, China imported 10.29 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in July. Even though it decreased by 18.8% from June, it was still up 17% from a year earlier.

Overall imports decreased by 12.4%, and exports decreased by 14.5% from the previous year, both larger drops than anticipated.

Despite the dismal figures, some analysts maintained a bullish prognosis for China's fuel demand for the period from early August to mid-October.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, this week announced it would prolong a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million bpd for another month, to cover September. This leaves the door open for additional cuts by the country.