West African sales to China fall

摘要

Chinese demand for west African crude shows little sign of recovering amid a worsening economic outlook.Sales of west African crude to China are scheduled at around 580,000 b/d in the first quarter,as the global economic crisis bites and oil demand slows(AGM,2 February,p5).This is far lower than in the first quarter of last year,when surging demand for distillates and government pressure on refiners to keep operating-despite poor margins-boosted Chinese imports to a record 960,000 b/d(see graph).