China’s Return to the Energy Market Could Become the Next Global Price Shock

For months, China’s reduced appetite for oil and LNG imports has helped ease some of the pressure on already-strained global energy markets. But Beijing’s current strategy appears less about weakening demand and more about caution amid the Iran war and the growing risks surrounding Middle Eastern supply routes. Chinese buyers have been drawing down inventories, slowing refinery activity, and delaying spot purchases while waiting for safer and potentially cheaper cargo opportunities. The problem for global markets is that this balancing…