China Crude Buying Jumps, and Fuel Exports Jump 29% – Jeff Curry is Spot On. It’s about the lack of refining capacity.

Chinese refiners are stepping back into the crude market while flooding product markets with extra gasoline and diesel, just as the rest of the world is running short of both barrels and refining capacity. August data show crude imports rising 6.2% from July to 8.93 million barrels per day, while refined product exports jumped 29% […]

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Russia’s surprise return to a G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, this week laid bare a widening rift.

European attendees openly scorned the presence of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who attended at the invitation of the Trump administration—the first in-person Russian participation since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called the signal “quite troubling” and insisted “you cannot simply return to normality.” European officials refused […]

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Two VLCC Tankers and Two LNG Tankers Pass Through the Strait of Hormuz en Route to China and India

In a significant sign of cautious normalization amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and at least two LNG tankers have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz this week, with cargoes bound for key Asian buyers in China and India. The vessels operated in “dark mode” — transponders switched off to […]

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