The CEO of commodity trading company Vitol said that in recent weeks, Chinese oil companies have been active sellers, having sold crude oil to several countries through tenders.
According to Bloomberg, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy stated on the 21st at the Financial Times Global Commodities Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland: "What has happened over the past two or three weeks is that they have actually been actively selling crude oil... They have withdrawn substantial demand from several countries and have been aggressively bidding in tenders."
Hardy said there may be multiple reasons for this round of selling, including China releasing its oil inventories, the continued sale of Iranian oil in the weeks following the outbreak of war, and the market's possible optimistic expectations that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen sooner than the current situation suggests.
Hardy also said that due to the popularity of electric vehicles, Vitol expects China’s gasoline demand will decrease by 1 million barrels per day this year, which could also be one of the factors driving this sale.
Hardy said: "How much longer can they keep doing this? My guess is probably about three more weeks or so, and by then, they will have to adjust their position."