The escalating trade spat between China and the United States has started to worry Middle Eastern oil producers, who expect the dispute to hurt China’s oil imports alongside a rising U.S. dollar. Yet the trade spat is by far not the only cause for worry when it comes to China’s oil demand. “Obviously the trade issue is going to impact demand in a negative fashion if it continues and persists,” the Oil Minister of Bahrain told CNBC this week. “There is a danger that the demand will be impacted as well. People often focus on the supply side—what happens if Iran stops supplying—but what happens if China reduces its consumption?” Oman’s top oil man chimed in. What Middle Eastern producers might not like to admit is that this may already be happening. Earlier this year, Beijing introduced a new tax reporting system for independent refiners in a bid to […]