A dip in China’s appetite of Russia’s popular ESPO blend crude is driving the grade’s price sharply lower, nearly wiping out the premium it often commands over rival Middle Eastern grades owing to its proximity to North Asian refiners. The dramatic plunge in ESPO premiums comes just months after an equally striking rally in the grade’s price, and underscores the Asian market’s growing sensitivity to the ebb and flow in China’s oil demand. While China has been influential as Asia’s biggest crude importer for years now, the recent emergence of the country’s independent refiners as oil importers is adding to its sway in Asia’s demand-supply balance and rattling the spot crude oil market. Equipped with their recently acquired ability to import crude oil, China’s independent refiners, also known as teapots, have been buying up select grades of crude oil, pushing up their prices. Article continues below… Crude Oil Marketwire […]