China’s oil imports may have declined in March, a Reuters poll of 31 economists showed on Monday, while experts expect China’s economy to have sharply contracted in the first quarter of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. China, the world’s top oil importer and key oil demand growth driver, went in lockdown at the end of January and February to try to stop the spreading of COVID-19. As a result, demand for energy for industrial activity and for fuel sharply dropped. Chinese oil imports held up in the first two months, because volumes had been contracted weeks before the first public announcement of the virus and because Chinese refiners typically stock up on crude before the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was at the end of January this year. China’s crude oil imports increased by 5.2 percent on the year in January-February to come in at 10.47 million […]