National Bank of Canada's (NBC) Jocelyn Paquet analyzes how China’s sharp reduction in petroleum imports helped offset the Middle East supply shock and limit Oil price gains. The July rebound in Chinese imports is highlighted as historically large in percentage terms. Paquet stresses that future trends in Chinese demand will be as important as Middle East developments for determining global energy prices. "But just as the decline in Chinese demand has helped cap prices, a potential recovery could have the opposite effect in the future if the Strait were to remain closed for an extended period." "Imports of petroleum products indeed rose by 1.2 million barrels per day during the month (or 22.1%)."