China’s Crude Stockpiles at 1-Year Low Amid Global Drawdown
- Crude oil inventories fall to lowest since Feb. 2020: Kayrros
- Higher prices, backwardation making hoarding unattractive
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China’s crude stockpiles fell to the lowest level in almost a year amid a global drawdown in inventories that’s being driven by a tighter supply-demand balance and higher costs to hoard oil.
Inventories capped a seventh weekly decline last week, dropping to 990 million barrels, according to market intelligence firm Kayrros. While that’s the least since February 2020, stockpiles are still 16% higher than a year earlier. A resurgent virus and lockdowns in parts of the country have raised concerns about a near-term demand hit, but an overall improvement in domestic travel compared with last year is contributing to the recovery.