If oil prices are to continue their strong rally, they will have India to thank. India has emerged as the “star performer” of the oil markets, the IEA wrote in its May Oil Market Report. Oil demand growth in India has surpassed that of China, the long-time cornerstone of global commodity demand. Part of India’s sudden importance has to do with China. Demand growth for refined fuels in China plunged recently, down to 353,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2016 from a year earlier. That is down roughly 60 percent from a highpoint in the third quarter of last year at nearly 900,000 barrels per day (elevated levels that had a lot to do with filling of China’s strategic petroleum reserve). But India’s demand for liquid fuels grew by 400,000 barrels per day in the first quarter, which was the fastest in the world, accounting for […]