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The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest monthly report that China imported 6.81m barrels per day (bpd) in April, an all-time high. This is raising eyebrows since China’s economy has been slowing for months, with slump conditions in the steel industry and a sharp downturn in new construction.

The agency estimates that 1.4m bpd was funnelled into China’s fast-expanding network of storage facilities, deeming it “an unprecedented build.” Shipments were heavily concentrated at Chinese ports nearest the new reserve basins at Tianjin and Huangdao. “We think this is a big deal,” said one official.

China accounts for 40% of all growth in world oil demand, so any serious boost to its strategic reserves tightens the global supply almost instantly and pushes up the spot price.

It’s very similar to what they have been doing with copper

Michael Lewis, head of commodities at Deutsche Bank, said Chinese officials at Beijing’s Strategic Reserve Bureau are playing the oil market tactically, or “buying the dips” in trader parlance. They add to stocks whenever Brent crude prices fall to key support lines, as occurred earlier this spring. This is currently around $105.

“It’s very similar to what they have been doing with copper. Whenever it drops below $7,000 [a tonne], they see it as a buying opportunity. They do the same with agricultural commodities,” he said.

China is putting a floor of sorts underneath the global oil market, calling into question predictions by the big oil trading banks that prices will deflate this year as more crude comes on stream from Libya, Iraq and Iran, and as the U.S. keeps adding supplies of shale.