DEMAND FOR OIL IN CHINA FELL 2.7% IN MAY

Demand for oil in China has fallen as the country’s economic activity has slowed. Oil demand in China slipped 2.7 percent in May as the world’s second-largest energy consumer reduced imports, after growing steadily each month this year, according to S&P Global Platts.

The country’s oil demand declined to 10.88 million barrels a day as economic activity softened and refineries used 4.3 percent less crude compared with the month before. Imports of oil dropped 41 percent compared with the same month last year.

Before the tumble in May, China’s oil demand had grown by more than 300,000 barrels a day from January to April, according to government data.

China’s appetite for oil could “moderate significantly,” the Platts report said, growing less than 2 percent this year as Chinese gross domestic product has slipped from 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015 to 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

This not good news as China was the main support of the Oil industry. The “new normal” for Chinese economy could be less import of Oil in the months to come. This new index is just a confirmation that China economy is slowing down at level that might precipitate a “problem” in 2017. Fortunately the US economy seems to continue to grow but June & July numbers are not reflective of the entire year so let’s be prudent with economic predictions.

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* S&P Platts release: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/platts-china-oil-analytics-china-100000006.html