China's returning oil demand pushes up crude prices from Africa to Latin America

China's renewed appetite for oil has triggered a fresh wave of price increases stretching from Congo's coast to Brazil's oil fields, Donya-e-Eqtesad reported Monday, September 7, 2026 (16 Shahrivar 1405), as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian export restrictions push Chinese refiners to seek alternative supply from more distant markets. Market traders cited in the report said Congo's Djeno crude grade is being offered to Chinese buyers this week at a 20 dollar premium to Brent, up 5 dollars from two weeks ago. The report said China's crude imports have not yet returned to pre war levels and are fluctuating around 10 million barrels a day, versus about 12 million previously; Goldman Sachs estimates China's oil imports are down roughly 35 percent from a year earlier. At the same time, Donya-e-Eqtesad said, China's government has begun injecting 300 billion yuan into major banks to counter slowing economic growth.