Brent rise on the cards21 Apr 2021 09:41
Bloomberg) -- Chinese traffic and factory activity is not only back to normal, it’s surpassing pre-virus levels, underpinning the global oil demand recovery.
The robust consumption from China -- the world’s biggest crude importer that’s also on track to become the No. 1 refiner this year -- offers support to oil bulls. That’s especially true because India, Asia’s other main demand center, is dealing with a brutal new wave of the coronavirus that’s leading to deserted streets and itinerant workers fleeing major cities.
Chinese oil demand in May could be as much as 20% higher than the same period in 2019, said Sengyick Tee, an analyst at Beijing-based SIA Energy. Apart from a few months last year, the nation’s energy consumption has been strong and continues to be, he said.
Factories at 143 industrial locations were operating at 83.5% of capacity at end-March, according to Shenzhen-based data provider Space Vision, which uses satellite imaging and analysis of indicators including night-time power use. That’s up from 70.3% at the same time last year and 73.6% in 2019.
Congestion levels on roads during morning rush hours in the week through April 12 were higher than average levels in 2019 in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Changsha and Wuhan, data from navigation company TomTom International BV show.