Kansas Kid said:jrdaustin said:K2-HMFIC said:flown-the-coop said:
Regardless, it's helping keep oil prices lower. For once… good China?
The CCP is not exactly an altruistic group…the why is an interesting question.
This has only started within the last 30 days…so a recent policy shift.
What changed?
How much of China's imports were either from Venezuela or from countries shipping through the Hormuz Strait? Shut those two spigots off, and what other options does China have to keep the oil flowing?
Almost every other export country is an option. It is just a matter of price with some minor issues around crude quality and logistics. At this point, they are ok drawing down their ample reserves but the moment they think they need more imports, they will outbid a lot of poorer countries to get their necessary oil.
This. Oil is a global commodity and prices off the highest bidder. If the SoH stays closed, is Venezuela now producing enough oil to offset the loss of oil coming from the Middle East? If not, then eventually reserves will run out and countries will start bidding up the price of oil to get what they need.
I hope the strait opens soon or Venezuela backfills the loss of supply, because China isn't going to cut their imports forever. Something has to give.