China’s Nov oil demand flat, revival hopes fade

China’s implied oil demand nudged up a minimal 0.1 percent in November from a year earlier, quashing hopes of a year-end rvival in the sluggish demand growth of the world’s second largest consumer.

Imports of crude oil slid to the second-lowest level since January and exports of heavier products rose, as the impact of measures designed to keep fuel in China appeared to fade.

..Many analysts were more optimistic about the outlook for 2006, with growth forecasts of 6 percent or more, but warned that government pricing policies could stifle consumption, as they did earlier this year in Guangdong.

“Chinese demand in 2006 will be set by the choices that Chinese authorities make in fixing the ceilings for retail prices,” SG Commodities said in a recent research note.

Beijing sets tight caps on pump prices and for most of this year they have languished well below global markets, so refiners selling into the domestic market often have to swallow a loss.

Reuters