29 April | Oil

China ignores risks of confrontation with US and steadily replenishes oil reserves — FT

China ignores risks of confrontation with US and steadily replenishes oil reserves — FT

The Financial Times (FT) reports that Chinese oil traders are betting on cheap crude, disregarding the long-term risks of a trade confrontation with the United States.

According to the analytics provider Kpler, China's oil imports reached a record 11 million barrels per day in March and April — the highest in 18 months.

Active purchases began with Iranian oil due to the threat of new restrictive measures. These buys quickly escalated into the widespread replenishment of strategic reserves. A combination of tariff threats from US President Donald Trump and increased production in OPEC+ countries caused prices to plummet to a four-year low, providing China with the opportunity to buy cheaper crude.

Analysts at UBS and Morgan Stanley note that China traditionally uses periods of low prices to build up oil inventories, despite the threat of slowing consumption in the second half of the year.

Restrictions against Shandong refineries have already reduced crude imports from Iran from a record 1.8 million to 1.2 million barrels per day. Still, demand for supplies from Iran will remain resilient due to competitive costs, the FT concludes.

Elena Dorokhina MarketCheese
Period: 14.07.2025 Expectation: 945 pips
Delayed tariff implementation may push silver to $35.650
Yesterday at 11:10 AM 39
Period: 18.07.2025 Expectation: 1400 pips
Weak dollar may drive S&P 500 to 6,300
Yesterday at 07:34 AM 39
Brent sell
Period: 11.07.2025 Expectation: 400 pips
Brent falls ahead of OPEC+ decisions
04 July 2025 63
Period: 18.07.2025 Expectation: 900 pips
AUDCAD is likely to keep pulling back from its monthly high
04 July 2025 48
Period: 10.07.2025 Expectation: 1200 pips
Selling USDJPY during rebound with 142.430 target
03 July 2025 64
Period: 11.07.2025 Expectation: 220 pips
Heatwaves across Europe and US support gas price recovery from recent lows
03 July 2025 245
Go to forecasts