Crude Oil Markets: falling Chinese diesel consumption and Rising Russian Oil Exports
With the impact of the Middle Eastern volatility on crude oil prices having diminished, aside from minor spikes during occasional military flare-ups, long-term demand concerns now seem to be the primary driver of oil markets. Although the atmosphere in the Middle East is far from settled, the ground realities paint more of a picture of psychological confrontation than that of physical on the battlefield; both Israel and Iran along with its allies, are weighing the options, while the world watches who is going to blink first. As far as crude oil markets are concerned, meanwhile, two significant developments emerged this week: for instance, the Indian media reports that India bought $2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russian in July alone; it is a far cry from India's position with regard to the Russian oil imports before February, 2022, when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine; it was just less than 1% of India's total oil imports. India, the world's second larg
