While oil demand in Europe and the United States continues to disappoint, refiners in Asia are racing to procure crude from around the world, giving the oil market some hope that at least in one region, demand is strengthening in the fourth quarter. Lower term supplies from major OPEC producers due to the OPEC+ cuts, new import quotas for independent refiners in China, and strengthening fuel demand in India have all combined to create a bidding war for crude grades from all around the world going to Asia at the beginning of 2021, traders have told Bloomberg . The increased demand for crude has pushed the price of Russia’s ESPO blend for January loading to the highest premium over the Dubai benchmark in five months. ESPO is very popular with refiners in China and Japan, but Chinese refiners are also snapping up cargoes from Angola and Brazil, according to […]