India's oil demand growth set to outpace China in 2025: Trafigura

Oil demand growth in India looks set to outpace China’s underlying gains this year, according to Trafigura Group.

 

“We would be constructive on Indian demand,” Chief Economist Saad Rahim said at APPEC by S&P Global Commodity Insights on Monday. “This year, Indian demand is set to outstrip China’s, if you exclude strategic stockpiling.”

 

China and India — the region’s leading crude importers — are key drivers of demand growth, as producers and traders navigate the impact of economic shifts, plus the spread of renewable energy. While growth in the South Asian nation is being driven by urbanization and rising incomes, China is facing slowing crude consumption growth aside from in petrochemicals.

  

Still, overall consumption growth in China this year has been supported by consistent builds in stockpiles, both commercial and strategic. That accumulation has helped to support global crude prices even as Opec+ restored idled capacity at a rapid clip, including an additional loosening at the weekend.