- Oil bounces off an earlier decline to a one-year low
- WTI gained nearly $1/Bbl this morning to trade above $75/Bbl amid
- The Chinese government ordered officials to cut back on mass testing, and lockdowns in major cities
- Newly reported COVID-19 cases in China have decreased from a daily average of over 40,000 in recent days to 20,764 on Wednesday
- As markets enter their typical winter slowdown, there are still concerns about demand as China's Covid-zero policy restrains the activity
- Additionally, despite China starting to ease its Covid-19 curbs, the market might be pricing-in inflation worries to outweigh geopolitical risks and add downward pressure on crude prices
- China's November crude imports hit a ten-month high (BBG)
- Chinese customs reported increased crude imports during November, which climbed to 11.42 MMBbl/d, up 12% from a year earlier
- Chinese state refiners stepped up purchases of U.S. crude oil while maintaining high imports of Russian oil ahead of the Dec 5 EU Russian oil embargo and G7 price cap
- AEGIS notes that the high Chinese imports had more to do with the race to buy cheaper crude and an increase in fuel exports as a result of refiners' year-end quotas rather than increased domestic demand