Oil market drifts lower

London - World oil prices dampened Monday on fading supply concerns following a failed coup in Turkey over the weekend.

At about 14:00, Brent North Sea crude for September delivery was down 21 cents at $47.40 a barrel.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August shed 24c to $45.71 a barrel compared with Friday's close.

"Brent climbed... late on Friday following the military coup in Turkey," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

"Prices shed their gains again after the coup was quashed at the weekend."

While a sense of calm has returned to Turkey following the failed coup attempt, analysts said the situation remains volatile as authorities press on with a ruthless crackdown against the plotters, detaining 6 000 people.

Turkey is of major importance to the oil market because the country is a crucial oil transit hub - and a major global consumer of crude.

"Oil pipelines with a daily throughput capacity of more than 3 million barrels cross Turkish territory, transporting crude oil from the oilfields in the Caspian Sea and north of Iraq to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan," said Fritsch.

"Then there are the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, key shipping routes through which nearly 3 million barrels of crude oil and oil products are transported each day from Russia and the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean."

The oil market had risen in earlier Asian trading hours on Monday, as robust Chinese and US economic data fuelled hopes of a pick-up in demand from the world's top two economies.

The US Commerce Department said retail sales in June rose more than expected, which is good news for an economy driven largely by consumer spending.

Earlier in the day China released forecast-beating second-quarter growth figures, providing some relief as the Asian economic giant suffers a long-running slowdown.

Over the past month, oil has fluctuated between $44 and $52, after hitting near 13-year lows below $30 in February owing to a global supply glut.