China's oil production seen falling by 7% this year

Hong Kong

OPEC'S campaign to prop up oil prices is getting unlikely support from its biggest customer.

China's production is forecast to fall by as much as 7 per cent this year, extending a record decline in 2016, according to analysts at CLSA Ltd, Sanford C Bernstein & Co and Nomura Holdings Inc. That's about the same size as the output cut agreed by Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which late last year reached a deal to trim supply to support prices.

"China's domestic crude output decline will certainly help Opec's plan to reduce global supply," said Nelson Wang, a Hong Kong-based oil …