With Prices Low Again, China To Go on Another Oil Buying Binge That Will Help Some African Countries More Than Others

China’s Ministry of Commerce is going to allow private companies and other “non-state entities” to buy 20% more oil next year in a move that will be enthusiastically welcomed by beleaguered oil-producing states, including many in Africa, currently suffering from persistently low prices.

The increased quota amounts to about 823,000 barrels per day of new demand, not a huge amount — around about as much as Algeria’s daily output — but in a market where most of the world’s major economies are in recession, even a modest bump like this can help lift prices from the current $35 per barrel.

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