U.S. Sanctions, Not Demand, Behind Weak Start for Asian Oil Imports

Weaker-than-expected oil flows to Asia have led to some questioning the validity of oil demand forecasts for the year. Imports have indeed been 780,000 bpd lower in January and February than a year ago—yet it has already been an eventful year. Anything might happen yet—including even more bearish things for oil. The 780,000 bpd figure comes from LSEG Oil Research, as reported by Reuters’ Clyde Russell. The decline put the average daily intake of oil in Asia at 26.17 million barrels. Unsurprisingly, it was China that drove the…