The OPEC deal might have revived oil prices for now, but a combination of elevated inventories and the threat of lower demand growth in China in 2017 could come back to spook oil markets as they recover steadily. China’s strong crude demand has prevented oil prices from falling even lower during the 2-year oil price bust. An opportunistic buying strategy focused on filling commercial and strategic oil inventories as well as a strong demand from China’s teapot refineries that resulted in a ‘product glut’ have kept crude demand growth ‘’solid to steady’’ according to OPEC economists. According to Marketwatch , China imported about 7.9 million barrels of crude oil per day in November, a little bit over 70 percent of its total crude oil demand. The Chinese General administration of customs reports an 18.3 percent year on year crude import growth in November. Chinese demand for crude may continue […]