Virus in China Threatens Oil Market’s Top Source of Growth
- Epicenter of outbreak is also engine of global demand growth
- Virus could significantly slow expansion in China’s fuel use
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For the global oil market, the coronavirus epidemic couldn’t have hit a worse place.
As the industry banks on strong demand growth to overcome abundant supply, China, the epicenter of the disease, has been cherished as the engine of that consumption. Last year, when it imported more oil crude than any country ever, the Asian giant accounted for two-thirds of all new oil demand globally.