China imported 416 million tons of crude oil during the first nine months of the year, up 12.7 percent on the year, in the latest positive sign for oil demand despite the pandemic. The amount translates into 338.8 million barrels monthly on average, or about 11.29 million barrels daily, using a conversion factor of 7.33 barrels per 1 ton of oil. In September alone, China’s crude oil imports averaged 11.52 million bpd, according to data from energy analytics services provider OilX released earlier this month. Although lower than the average for January to September, last month’s average was 24.4 percent or 2.26 million bpd higher than a year earlier. “After growing for five consecutive months, floating storage in China fell for the first time, indicating that port congestion has started to ease,” oil analysts Juan Carlos Rodriguez and Valantis Markogiannakis wrote in a report last week. The news about […]