From Reuters:
China’s bid to end fuel shortages by ordering refiners to beef up supplies puts only a temporary cap on a problem that may keep bubbling up until the government bows to market forces.
If global crude prices have not retreated by the time Chinese oil demand surges again in spring for the lunar new year and planting, the temporary truce between technocrats and state-owned but publicly listed oil firms may crumble.
“The state can order us to beef up supply in the short term, but it’s only a temporary relief. What about next month, what about the spring festival?” said a Sinopec refinery official. [Full Text]
