Chinese crude oil inventories declined by 3.42 percent in August over July, to stand at 29.79 million tons, official Xinhua News Agency reports, in a sign that oil demand growth has picked up. Last month, total fuel stocks also dropped, by 0.95 percent to 17.02 million tons, their lowest level since December last year, Reuters quoted Xinhua as saying. The key driver for the drop in oil products stockpiles was a 1.7-percent decline in diesel stocks to 7.33 million tons, in a sign that the domestic glut has been eased. According to Xinhua, demand growth for diesel in the infrastructure, mining, and industrial sectors picked up last month. China’s gasoline stocks were flat month on month at 7.53 million tons, whereas keronese inventories dropped to 2.28 million tons in August from 2.31 million tons at end-July. Refinery runs rose in August, after a 10-month low in the previous month. […]