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If crude’s slump back to a six-year low looks bad, it’s even worse when you reflect that summer is supposed to be peak season for oil.

Oil sank to a six-year low Aug. 13 as rising crude output and signs that China’s economy is weakening increased concern that a global surplus will worsen.

Oil rose from the lowest level in almost five months in New York as Chinese crude imports climbed to a record in July.

U.S. crude posted its biggest monthly drop since the 2008 financial crisis on July 31 after a string of losses in July triggered by China's stock market slump and signs that top Middle East producers were pumping crude at record levels.

Brent crude oil futures on July 23 settled at their lowest price since April, and U.S. crude fell into bear market territory and ended below $49 a barrel for the first time since late March as persistent concerns about ample supply and shaky demand offset support from the dollar's weakness.

Oil prices may fall further as the world remains “massively oversupplied,” before markets tighten in 2016 when output growth outside OPEC grinds to a halt, according to the International Energy Agency.

HOUSTON — BP will pay up to $18.7 billion in penalties to the U.S. government and five states to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago in the largest corporate settlement in U.S. history.