China is importing oil at near-record levels while its domestic product has also increased. China’s oil imports in June jumped 45.3 percent on the year to the second-highest monthly figure on record, with refiners building up inventories despite weak domestic demand. Oil imports in June totaled 12.67 million barrels per day–a sharp increase from a year ago when the country was still under Covid-19 lockdowns. The large increase in oil imports has come after Beijing lifted curbs imposed on independent refiners aka teapots. China has also increased its natural gas imports, with imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) hitting a 5-month high in June, although weak demand especially in Europe has capped prices. Last month, China imported 5.96 million metric tons of LNG, 28% higher than the 4.64 million the country purchased a year ago and also higher than 5.54 million metric tons imported in May. China has ramped up crude output, and is currently pumping 4.3 million barrels a day making it the world’s fifth largest producer. NN: Although you could not tell it from the AI spin the Chinese economy is zooming back to life.