China’s crude oil demand has picked up this month, as independent refiners are looking to buy more crude for March and April delivery to restock supplies while oil prices are still relatively low, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting trade sources. Independent refiners—commonly known as teapots—contributed a lot to China’s 30-percent jump in crude oil imports in December compared to a year earlier. The surge was the result of independent refiners rushing to exhaust their import quotas before the end of last year. This pushed the daily rate of shipments into China to 10.31 million bpd. That was the second month in a row when Chinese refiners imported more than 10 million bpd of crude oil, Reuters notes, with the December figure slightly below the record-high November import rate. Independent refiners then slowed down purchases for crude oil delivery for January and February, because Chinese demand for fuel is generally […]