Recovering Chinese Data Supporting Oil Imports

As China’s new fifth generation leaders were announced to their public this week, a wave of encouraging assessments of the nation’s coming economic health fortuitously seeped into the media.  Late summer’s unveiling of some $150 billion in rail and infrastructure project stimulus funding seems to be helping stabilize the economy.  Recent data shows the year-over-year growth of China’s economy as a meagre 7.4% during the third quarter.  Whether last quarter’s growth assessment embodies the view of some observers that the recent Chinese economic figures are “man-made” and they are for “reference only” remains to be seen, as does the breath of any recovery.  After enduring a seven-quarter slowdown, the country’s expectations for economic improvement, the new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping seems careful in managing expectations.  As economic vitality returns to China, its need for oil imports also seems destined to expand. Download here