China Shakes Off IEA Forecast Of Slow Growth

China has issued a note of caution to the oil market: ignore the country’s oil thirst at your own peril.

Barely a week after the International Energy Agency cut its demand growth forecast for China, the country Monday posted a record-high crude oil import figure of 12.25 million metric tons for April, or the equivalent of 2.99 million barrels a day.

This is up a sizable 22.5% against the same month last year, trumping the previous monthly high of 12.1 million tons in December 2004, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Schlumberger