* Covid-19 has hit global oil demand hard: the IEA reckons global consumption will fall from 100.1mn b/d for 2019 to just 91.7mn b/d this year (MEES, 18 September). But one country has bucked the trend, at least as far as import stats are concerned: China imported an average of 11.04mn b/d for the first eight months of 2020, up 12% year on year, although this is due in large part to China taking advantage of low prices to fill strategic stocks (MEES, 2 October).
*The growth in Chinese buying almost single-handedly compensated for steep falls in the other big three Asian importers: Korean imports were down 9% at 2.71mn b/d, India down 12% at 3.98mn b/d and Japan down 17% at 2.54mn b/d (see chart 1). (CONTINUED - 222 WORDS)
