Crude imports for stockpiling inflate apparent demand

摘要

Chinese apparent oil demand rebounded above 9mn b/d in August, a rise of 500,000 b/d from July, despite lower refinery run rates (see table). But demand was still nearly 700,000 b/d below June's high (AGM, 2 August, p3). The rise in apparent oil demand - production plus net imports - was largely the result of higher crude imports, although refinery throughputs fell for a second month running because of turnarounds and slower economic growth.