China’s sluggish crude oil trade in the first quarter of the year has added to macroeconomic concerns and banking sector jitters to keep oil prices around $80 a barrel so far in 2023, despite the Chinese reopening and expectations of stronger demand in the world’s top crude importer later this year. China’s imports of crude oil surged by 22.5% year-over-year in March to the highest monthly volumes in nearly three years since June 2020, official data showed in April as refiners were increasing fuel output to meet expected rising demand. China imported as much as 52.3 million tons of crude oil in March, per data from ... (full story)