Another headwind for oil. When looking for the prime culprit behind widespread weakness in commodity prices, fingers often point squarely at China. On the supply side, especially in select metals , the world’s second-largest economy deserves a hefty portion of the blame for the rout. But in the case of crude, China has responded to lower prices with a jump in demand, says Barclays’ Commodities Analyst Miswin Mahesh. Although, as he notes, there are signs that this increased appetite may soon wane. Getting a handle on China’s true oil demand is notoriously difficult , and estimates will vary widely depending on which analyst you ask. While Mahesh projects that the demand for oil in the world’s second-largest economy grew by 5 percent in 2015, he cautions that: “Chinese oil data are finally starting to reflect weak economic activity.” In November, implied oil demand contracted by 2 percent relative to […]