China to Bump up Strategic Oil Reserves After Price Crash

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports that China is considering the possibility of ramping up the country's strategic oil reserves by buying crude now, especially after the recent price crash.

The sources added: “Top planning officials are consulting with government agencies on the matter and Beijing is yet to decide on whether to proceed.”

This comes as a good news for oil markets, roiled by the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war and coronavirus fears. China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer.

Both crude benchmarks are off their highs but keep their recovery mode intact, with WTI trading below $35 while Brent around $38 barrier.

The black gold crashed over 30% on Monday, in dramatic fall triggered by Saudi’s oil price cut after the OPEC+ fallout on output policy.