China oil imports recover on stockpiling

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crude oil imports in December recovered from the year’s lowest in November, as oil firms, as well as the state, rushed to build up stocks following the crash in oil prices.

The increase came despite ample fuel supplies and sluggish demand at the pump as the economy took a worse-than-expected toll from the global financial crisis.

The world’s second-largest oil consuming country imported 14.37 million tonnes of crude oil in December, or 3.38 million barrels per day, a source familiar with the data said on Monday.

The rate would be 11.6 percent higher than a year earlier, and 4 percent higher than in November 2008 on a daily basis, according to a Reuters calculation.

Reuters