China Unloads Crude Oil From Reserves

Despite a major intervention from the Chinese Government, Oil ended the week higher.

In a move seen as necessary to deal with the rising fuel prices in China, The Chinese intervened in the Crude oil market via Its strategic Oil reserves. According to reports, China has one of the largest strategic reserves of crude in the world, estimated at 220 million barrels, according to UK-based consultancy Energy Aspects. The U.S still maintains the world’s largest, with a total capacity of 727 million barrels.

unloading massive amounts of oil is seen as an extreme move, even in the oil industry. Yet the Markets remained relatively unchanged going into the weekend.

Brent settled at $72.92 per barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude grades, closed the week 2.32 percent higher at $69.72 per barrel.