LONDON, Aug 8 Reuters Oil prices fell by 1 on Tuesday after data showed China39;s imports and exports fell much more than expected in July in yet another sign of a sluggish postCOVID rebound for the world39;s largest oil importer.

Brent crude futures were down 93 cents, or about 1.1, at 84.41 a barrel at 0815 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 88 cents, or about 1.1, at 81.06.

China39;s oil imports were 10.29 million barrels per day bpd in July, data showed on Tuesday. That was down 18.8 from June, but still up 17 from a year earlier.

The country39;s overall imports dropped 12.4 and exports fell 14.5 from a year earlier, both steeper declines than expected.

Despite the gloomy data, some analysts were still positive on China39;s fuel demand outlook for August to early October.

The peak season for construction and manufacturing activity starts in September and gasoline consumption should benefit from summer travel demand, said CMC Markets analyst Leon Li. Demand is expected to decrease gradually after October, he added.

On the supply side, Saudi Arabia last week said it would extend a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million bpd for another month to include September, keeping the door open for further cuts by the world39;s biggest oil exporter.

Russia also said it would cut oil exports by 300,000 bpd in September.

Saudi Arabia39;s decision to extend production cuts into September despite Brent futures rising above 80 per barrel suggests that the kingdom…