China Added 200,000 Bpd to Crude Reserves in July Despite Hormuz Crisis

China is estimated to have added about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to its huge inventories in July as imports rebounded from a decade-low in June and refinery runs remained depressed. The world’s top crude oil importer, unlike other major oil consumers, started drawing down on stockpiles only in May, the third month of the Middle East crisis, as it had amassed an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil in commercial and strategic stocks at the start of the Iran war. The trend of drawdowns in May and June appears to have…