China supplied oil from its strategic state-run inventories to the country’s largest refiners earlier this month in a bid to quell a price rally. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve supplied about 3 million tons, or 22 million barrels, to the processors, according to people familiar with the situation. The move was intended to cool prices and control a growing threat of inflation, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. The operation might weaken Chinese demand for imported crude. The release was earlier reported by the Energy Intelligence. No one answered out-of-hours calls to the ... (full story)