Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after China cut its benchmark lending rates, sowing further concern over the demand outlook of the world’s largest crude importer. Brent crude was down 19 cents at $75.90 a barrel at 9 a.m. Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 83 cents to $71.10 per barrel. China on Tuesday cut its one-year loan prime rate and five-year LPR by 10 basis points each. The rate reductions followed recent economic data that showed China’s retail and factory sectors were struggling to sustain the momentum seen earlier this year. The Chinese government met last week to discuss measures to spur economic growth, even as several prominent banks cut their 2023 growth forecasts for the Asian giant amid concerns over its post-COVID recovery. China’s crude imports from Russia touch 2.29m bpd in May China’s oil imports from Russia jumped to a record high in May as private refiners snapped up crude transported through the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean pipeline and Urals at discounts. Arrivals from Russia totaled 9.71 million metric tons in May or 2.29 million barrels per day. According to the General Administration of Customs data, shipments were up 15.3 percent from 1.5 million bpd in the same month last year. The imports represented the highest level on record and a 32.4 percent increase over April’s 1.73 million bpd. China’s imports of Saudi crude totaled 7.32 million tons in May, or 1.72 million bpd, down 16 percent from last month’s 2.05 million bpd. Saudi Arabia was China’s largest source of crude in April. Much of the uptick in demand for Russian oil came from China’s private refiners, including major players such as Hengli Petrochemical. Hengli’s 400,000 bpd refinery in northeast Dalian received 730,000 barrels of Urals shipment and 3.71 million barrels of ESPO in May. Customs data also showed that imports from Malaysia were 1.34 million bpd in May, up 158.6 percent from the same period last year. Malaysia is often an intermediary point for sanctioned cargoes from Iran and Venezuela. Nigeria’s Tinubu needs US funding for energy transition Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that the US should help his country with more funding to help accelerate its energy transition plans as he pledged to meet its climate change goals. Oil remains Nigeria’s biggest foreign exchange earner. Like many African nations, it still needs to exploit its hydrocarbons to help provide power to millions of citizens without electricity. In a meeting with Geoffrey Praytt, US assistant secretary of state, the Nigerian president said the US should speed up funding to help the West African nation achieve its energy transition goals. “There are bottlenecks that must be unbottled in terms of how the US bureaucracy responds to our needs. Help must be given when it is needed,” Tinubu said. “I want to assure you that Nigeria will honor her obligations on climate change and renewables,” he said. (With input from Reuters)