African crude oil sales into China, the world’s biggest importer, have stalled as buyers wait for spot sale offers from top supplier Angola to fall in line with slumping benchmark prices, refining and trading sources said on Monday. Chinese refiners are in the market for Angolan imports in August, but they have been slow to finalize orders in the hope that the slide in Brent crude oil futures will lead to weaker cargo prices, industry sources said. In late April Brent was almost 20% below its 2018 peak. At the same time, Brent backwardation – a market trend where prices for prompt delivery are higher than those in future months – has narrowed sharply – a sign that spot premiums may weaken soon, the sources said. Brent’s premium to Dubai quotes also fell below $3 a barrel on Monday, down from the highest since May 2018 […]