Price rise boosts Chinese runs

摘要

China is leading the Asia-Pacific spurt in demand growth. Apparent demand for oil (crude production plus net oil imports) grew by 17pc in the first four months of this year, as crude imports surged to highs of 5mn b/d. Chinese crude runs bounced back to a high of over 8.3mn b/d in April after a March dip for maintenance. The government raised gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices on 14 April in line with the domestic pricing mechanism that links retail prices with international crude prices. This effectively guarantees Chinese refiners a margin on all of the crude that they process. The policy is designed to reduce the country's reliance on product imports, but artificially boosts crude imports. Refinery output this year has outrun domestic demand, boosting product exports by 40pc over the same period last year. Net exports of gasoline and diesel have doubled to 200,000 b/d.