Russian media: China's purchase of oil as strategic reserves stabilizes global oil prices
According to "Izvestia", China's purchase of oil as strategic reserves helps stabilize global energy prices.
This week, Saudi Arabia's oil exports reached the highest level in 18 months, with an average daily export volume of 6.42 million barrels. Despite this, oil prices remained stable, maintaining a level between $60 and $70 per barrel. The article points out that one reason may be that China has been purchasing oil as strategic reserves for several months in a row.
It is reported that recently, China has been rapidly increasing its national oil reserves. In just this year alone, China has purchased about 150 million barrels of oil for this purpose. The replenishment of reserves was particularly active in the second quarter. According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for more than 90% of the global reserve accumulation that can be evaluated.
The newspaper wrote that China has realized that, against the backdrop of the United States arbitrarily implementing sanctions and tariffs, China needs to strengthen its energy security. Currently, 20% of the oil purchased by China comes from countries sanctioned by the United States, mainly Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, which cannot guarantee that the United States will not increase the difficulty of their oil exports in the future. Increasing reserves is a wise move.
It is reported that China's current oil reserves are equivalent to 110 days of consumption. Before 2026, this number may increase to 140-180 days.
The newspaper pointed out that China may see oil as an alternative to U.S. Treasury bonds, which is a unique way to reduce dependence on U.S. assets and diversify foreign exchange reserves.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845366710941963/
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