* China's crude imports set to slow in Sept - Refinitiv
* High diesel inventory cap U.S. refiners' utilisation rates
By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday,
on track for a weekly loss, as investors' focus shifted to
lacklustre demand and ample fuel supplies, offsetting support
from a weak dollar.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell 19 cents, or 0.4%, to $43.88 a
barrel by 0034 GMT, heading for its biggest weekly loss since
June. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $41.17 a barrel, down
20 cents, or 0.5%, set to post its first weekly drop in five
weeks.
The volume of crude arriving in China, the world's largest
crude importer, is set to slow in September after rising for
five straight months as its refiners gradually digest bloated
inventories, according to data on Refinitiv Eikon.
In the United States, refiners awashed in diesel inventory
are unlikely to boost output soon. "Soft margins are likely to cap further crude rallies and we
anticipate further run cuts this fall to expedite the
rebalancing of product stocks," RBC Capital analyst Mike Tran
said in a note.
Production cuts led U.S. gasoline inventories to fall at a
"manic" pace in the past two months, even though U.S. mobility
indicators suggest that driving patterns have largely plateaued
over the past 6-8 weeks, he added.