China’s oil demand recovers as COVID impact eases, more quotas eyed – Reuters

China’s oil demand recovers as COVID impact eases, more quotas eyed – Reuters

SINGAPORE/LONDON/HOUSTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - China's demand for spot crude appears to be recovering after nearly five months of slower purchases caused by a shortage of import quotas, drawdowns from high inventories and COVID-19 lockdowns that muted Chinese fuel consumption.

Softer buying since April by the world's top crude importer and a drop in China's refining output to 14-month lows in July have depressed the prices of staple crude grades from West Africa and Brazil to multi-month lows. read more

But traders and analysts say Chinese importers are now increasing the pace of purchases and paying higher premiums to secure supplies from November onwards as lockdown restrictions ease.