China’s imported less crude oil in September 2012 than it did a year ago. It imported 20.08mm tonnes of crude, which is a -1.8% drop on a year-over-year basis but a sharp improvement from the -12.5% drop that occurred in August. Since data on a month-to-month basis is quite volatile, we look at it on a three month moving average. The three month average for July, August, and September is -3% year-over-year – the lowest rate of change since the financial crisis. We maintain that the slowdown in China is not yet reflected in the oil price.
