An oil tanker docked at the Yantai crude terminal in East China's Shandong province
China’s recovering oil demand may not be all it seems
Rise in imports may be more to do with stockpiling ahead of summer than actual increased consumption
China’s crude imports are showing signs of strength for March and April following weakness in January and February. But there is much debate over whether recent Chinese buying represents a genuine turnaround for end-user demand in the world’s biggest oil market and can be sustained in the second half of this year. Two key questions are the level of stockpiling and the limits to Russian crude purchases—and the uncertainty is likely to linger as demand continues its uneven revival. Vessel-tracking data indicates Chinese crude imports for March are set to increase by 250,000bl/d from February, to c.10.7mn bl/d, according to local consultancy JLC. This would mark a recovery from soft imports of
Also in this section
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
1 April 2026
The US-Iran conflict demonstrates the need for diversification in several senses of the word. It also exposes the limits of Washington applying pressure on major oil and gas producers it considers geopolitical adversaries
31 March 2026
Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally
