China’s fuel demand is on track to hit record highs this year on a rebound in car sales and booming domestic air travel, even as a resurgence of COVID cases slows movement in some cities in the near term, analysts say. Despite slowing growth for diesel, the main industrial fuel, overall consumption of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel in the world’s top crude oil importer is expected to grow by 7% to 11% in 2021 to a record between 8.4 million and 8.9 million barrels per day, analysts at consultancy SIA Energy, IHS Markit and Energy Aspects estimated. By comparison, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in March forecast China’s demand for gasoline, jet fuel and diesel would rise by 6.5% to 8.2 million bpd in 2021. China’s strong growth in fuel use has helped stoke a 50% jump in global crude oil prices from […]