The oil market came under renewed pressure yesterday and this weakness has continued in early morning trading today. ICE Brent settled almost 1.6% lower on the day, after confirmation from the Chinese government that it had tapped into its state oil reserves in order to ease some of the pressure that we have seen in raw material prices. This announcement comes after earlier reports that the government auctioned off barrels back in July from reserves, although there was no official confirmation. It would appear that this latest announcement confirms that release, while it also seems that we could see further auctions. ... (full story)