China oil demand in fastest growth in over 3 yrs

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s apparent oil demand rose 12.5 percent in September from a year earlier, the sixth rise in a row and the fastest rate since June 2006, as refiners operated at record rates amid a sustained recovery in economic activity.

However, the robust September rate, anticipated by some analysts, may have been inflated by a low base a year earlier when implied oil demand inched 2.3 percent as the global financial crisis began infiltrating into the world’s second largest oil market.

China used nearly 8.17 million barrels per day of oil last month, Reuters calculations based on official data showed on Monday, 460,000 bpd or 5.8 percent higher than August.

The demand growth, the first double-digit rally since August 2006, came as China’s fuel stocks — excluded from the calculations — edged lower for the second month in a row, providing more solid fundamental support to global oil prices CLc1 now near one-year high just under $80 a barrel.

Reuters