Oil traders eye the West, India as China imports slip

Forget China in 2006. Sell crude to India, diesel to the United States and watch the growth of global shipping trade if you want to capitalize on the trends that will shape the Asian spot oil market this year.

China, whose oil demand surge helped drive crude’s two-year rally, was the watchword for almost all Asian traders in 2005, but a halt in diesel imports, weaker fuel oil demand and a lack of naphtha buying dashed many bullish expectations.