Chinese demand for diesel will rise again this year after contracting for the first time in over a decade in 2016, buoyed as the world’s No.2 economy shows signs of growth, traders and analysts said. That could cap increases in exports of the fuel from the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, while bolstering benchmark Asian diesel margins already near 8-month highs. Diesel demand in China is expected to grow by up to 0.3 percent in 2017 and by 0.5 percent in 2018 after shrinking by 3.5 percent last year, said Sri Paravaikkarasu, the head of ‘east of Suez oil’ at energy consultancy FGE. “A variety of factors – improvement in mining and industrial activity, commercial vehicle sales and road freight movements – support a gradual revival in China’s (diesel) […]