On September 5th, Caixin reported that Hong Kong oil stocks once again weakened, not only ranking top in terms of decline, but also accelerating the decline.

As of the time of writing, Sinopec (00386.HK) plunged more than 6%, PetroChina (00857.HK) fell over 3%, hitting a two-month low. Kunlun Energy (00135.HK) and CNOOC (00883.HK) followed the decline.

On the news front, on September 4th (Wednesday), international oil prices continued to decline. The employment data and some of the financial reports of US stocks released that day have made investors worry about the slowing of US consumer spending growth and have bearish expectations for the growth prospects of US oil consumption.

Of particular note is the latest economic conditions "Beige Book" released by the Federal Reserve, which shows that more regions in the United States have entered the ranks of "stagnation or decline" in economic activity in recent weeks.

The report shows that in terms of economic activity, only 3 out of 12 regions reported slight growth, while 9 regions reported stagnant or declining activity. In the report for July, there were only 5 regions where economic activity was stagnant or declining.

As of the time of writing, the price of WTI crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen below the $70 per barrel level, reaching the lowest level in 9 months, almost wiping out all the gains so far this year, which is bearish sentiment for the bulls.

On the other hand, there are reports that OPEC+ is close to reaching an agreement to postpone the increase in production in October, which also sends a "chill" to the market.

According to reports, representatives who requested anonymity due to undisclosed information revealed that OPEC+ is close to reaching an agreement to postpone the increase in production in October. OPEC+ originally planned to increase daily production by 0.18 million barrels in October and continue similar increases on a monthly basis for the rest of the quarter. However, after crude oil prices fell to a 9-month low, the organization's members reconsidered this plan.

According to a report by Huatai Futures researchers Pan Xiang and Kang Yuanning on September 5th, OPEC's decision to revert to production cuts is not simply a bullish signal, as it signifies that OPEC believes the current demand is weak and requires significant downward revision.

Huatai Futures also pointed out that due to the significant downward revision of Chinese demand, there is very limited room for global demand growth next year. Even if OPEC maintains current production below 27 million barrels per day, the market may still face an oversupply.

Overall, due to the weak crude oil procurement demand from refiners in China and Japan at the moment, and the traditional autumn maintenance of refineries in Europe and the United States starting in September, the demand is expected to remain weak. In the short term, crude oil prices will continue to decline under the influence of bearish resonance and may continue to test support levels.