China Demand for Oil going up - Aug 17

[dan_s]

On August 14 Reuters reported:

> China's refinery output jumped 12% in July from the same month a year earlier, hitting the highest on record for any single month, as several major state plants resumed operations after maintenance overhauls. China processed 14.03 million b/d of oil last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. Throughput for the first seven months totalled 12.98 million b/d, up 2.3% from the same period a year ago.

> China's diesel demand is likely to hit a record this year powered by trucking activity, as Beijing's aggressive stimulus fuels a construction and delivery boom and a speedy recovery in heavy machinery sales, analysts say. The stimulus measures have helped to reverse the damage from the coronavirus crisis and a revival in diesel consumption is a signal that China's economic recovery is gaining traction. Diesel, which accounts for some 30% of total Chinese oil demand, will likely expand around 2% in 2020 and is outperforming gasoline and aviation fuel, both of which have been harder hit by travel curbs and look set to contract, according to analysts at SIA Energy and FGE.

> China's industrial output rose by 1.0% in July vs. June, up 4.8% year over year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The figures showed a slower than expected rise in Chinese industrial production and a surprise fall in retail sales.