It’s tempting to view the growth in China’s crude oil imports this year as mainly a result of increased strategic stockpiling, but that overlooks the rising importance of refined product exports. The stockpiling matters to crude oil markets as every barrel put into storage is ultimately positive for demand, as that barrel is effectively consumed insofar as it is taken out of the market. However, every barrel refined in China and exported as fuel is simply a barrel that isn’t bought elsewhere, as Chinese exports compete and replace fuel produced in other refining centers, such as India, Singapore and the Middle East. China’s crude oil imports were 6.65 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, taking the year to date level to 6.61 million bpd, up 8.7 percent on the first […]