Chinese Oil Demand Set to Rebound as Refiners Rush to Use Quotas

(Bloomberg) — Oil demand in China, the world’s largest importer, may pick up in the months ahead after Beijing released trade allowances enabling its vast refining industry to ship in more crude and export more fuel.

Local refiners and traders have been handed two separate batches of crude-import quotas for the remainder of this year and early 2023, as well as a 15 million ton fuel-export quota, according to industry consultant JLC. The moves are likely to increase China’s oil demand as processors grab cargoes to use up their allowances, according to traders participating in the market.