1. China’s oil import surge ended – China’s imports of crude oil are set to jump 10% this year, but the import surge occurred during the downturn earlier this year when crude prices collapsed. In fact, China’s exports of refined products are on the rise. – China’s oil demand dipped slightly by 30,000 bpd in October, but the IEA expects China’s demand to be up 480,000 bpd in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, dramatically better than OECD countries. – Despite Covid-19 vaccine optimism, a huge buildup of global oil inventories also remains. As a result, there is some risk to the price rally going too far in the short run. OECD stockpiles were 11% higher in September than they were in the same month a year earlier. – Looking forward, the IEA is more optimistic heading into the New Year. “We expect a solid recovery in demand […]