02:37 PM EDT, 07/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell to the lowest in a month on Friday as a weak outlook for Chinese demand and a rebounding dollar offset falling U.S. oil inventories.

WTI crude oil for August delivery closed down US$2.69 to settle at US$80.13 per barrel, the lowest since June 17. September Brent crude, the international benchmark, was last seen down US$2.27 to US$82.84.

The drop comes as concerns over Chinese demand continue after the No.1 oil importer's ruling Communist Party ended a Third Plenum without the solutions to the country's economic malaise, with growth slowing and its real-estate sector mired in a debt crisis. Instead, the party offered vague promises to focus on modernization.

"The third Plenum finished which was long on back-slapping ideals but short on details of any forthcoming stimulus," PVM Oil Associates noted. "Evidence in an occluded future was highlighted by a senior member of policy research admitting that modernisation was complex, and the way forward would need an overcoming of varied difficulties and obstructions."

A rebounding dollar is also pressing on oil prices, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.2 points to 104.38 after falling to a four-month low of 103.75 on Wednesday.

Still, U.S. demand is offering support amid the summer driving season. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported U.S. oil inventories fell for the third-straight week, with the 4.87-million barrels draw bringing the drop in stocks to 20.5-million barrels over the period.