Interpreting China’s Enigmatic Commodity Market

China has been at the forefront of all commodity forecasts after it decided to drop its zero-Covid policy and reopen late last year. Initially, pretty much every analyst expected the country’s economy to come roaring back to strong growth. Then expectations began to be revised as the first post-pandemic figures emerged. And these figures are not painting as clear a picture as commodity traders would have liked. Crude oil demand, for instance, hit a record high earlier in the year, topping 16 million barrels daily. Yet manufacturing…