China Slashes Oil Imports as OPEC+ Loses Market Influence

Reported Chinese crude-import reductions of roughly 5.5M b/d have driven a sharp price correction and weakened OPEC+’s ability to support prices, while announced production increases remain partly stranded by capacity and logistics constraints. Falling Chinese stocks and reduced Iranian inflows complicate the signal: macro demand is weakening, but physical inventories are also being depleted; bearish COT positioning raises contrarian risk.