Rising eastbound liftings pushed global crude shipments above 36mn b/d in April, a 16-month high. Demand in Asia-Pacific accounts for almost all the lmn b/d increase in Opec liftings since July last year, when they reached a six-year low. Eastbound shipments from west Africa were at a record 1.7mn b/d in April, boosted by Brent's small discount to Mideast Gulf marker Dubai earlier this year. More than half of this is heading for China, where crude runs have been above 8mn b/d for four of the past five months-- a rise of 1.5mn b/d from the previous year. Over 40pc of west African exports are going to Asia-Pacific.
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