Chinese crude demand growth to slow

China’s demand is set to increase again this year, but at a slower pace after hitting yet another record high in 2021

China’s energy demand is being buffeted by mounting economic headwinds and one-off short-term disruptions, including February’s Winter Olympics near Beijing. Oil demand in particular could decline quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2022 because of reduced refinery throughput in northeast China, owing to governmental desire for improved air quality during the games and March’s Winter Paralympics. Both events likely impacted short-term crude demand along with early February’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday, as businesses shut for the holiday. In addition to refining demand, other emissions-intense activities such as factory operations, power generation and general traffic movement were also asked to t