China smashed its crude oil imports record in May as manufacturing activity picked up and lockdowns eased. Amid recovering demand for gasoline and diesel, China’s total demand is nearly back up to pre-coronavirus levels, which prompted refineries to ramp up crude processing rates. On the face of it, China’s record crude oil imports last month are attributable to returning business activity and commuting, while road freight transportation gets a boost from deliveries of surging online sales. Yet, several other factors contributed to China’s record imports of crude oil in May. The lowest oil price in years was the key driver of the boom in China’s crude imports in May—a month in which both its exports and imports suffered due to weak global demand amid lockdowns. China imported 47.97 million tons of crude oil in May, equal to a record-high 11.34 million bpd, preliminary data from the Chinese General Administration […]