With oil prices depressed, China presides over a buyer’s market
Oil and gas suppliers are toiling to secure Chinese demand
WHEN OIL supply threatened to overwhelm storage tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, in April, the pain was felt as far as Chongqing. Retail investors in the Bank of China’s oil bao, or “treasure”, a speculative vehicle linked to crude futures, took a hit as the May contract for West Texas Intermediate settled at an astonishing -$37.63 a barrel on April 20th. The market’s gyrations have led to consternation in China—regulators have reportedly called for an investigation—and revealed unexpected victims. In general, though, plunging prices have served Chinese buyers rather well.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Custom of the country”
Finance & economics May 9th 2020
- Credit-rating agencies are back under the spotlight
- With oil prices depressed, China presides over a buyer’s market
- A perky stockmarket v a glum economy
- Emerging markets launch QE, too
- In bleak times for banks, India's digital-payments system wins praise
- Could the pandemic give America’s labour movement a boost?
- Losses by central banks are nothing to fear
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