China, which has been on an oil-buying binge since the start of the pandemic, is now retreating as storage space fills up and demand for fuels in the regions it exports them to remains weak. In the final quarter of the year, Chinese crude oil imports could shed 14.5 percent from the third-quarter levels, equal to 1.7 million bpd, Reuters reported , citing IHS Markit associate director Shi Fenglei. China began to stock up on cheap oil immediately after the benchmarks crashed following Saudi Arabia’s declaration of what was effectively a price war against Russia that coincided with the initial spread of the coronavirus. Traders and refiners continued buying until reports emerged that China’s oil storage may be close to filling up. Despite these reports, however, strong buying continued until the end of the third quarter, with the September average up 2.1 percent on August at 11.8 million bpd. […]