Chinese Refineries Post a 2.1% Increase in Output Over January and February

Chinese refiners booked a 2.1% increase in production over the first two months of the year as holiday travel pulled demand for fuels higher, helped by the start of a new refinery a few months earlier, Reuters has reported, citing China’s National Bureau of Statistics. The increase came from state-owned refineries while private operators, the so-called teapots, reduced their run rates in January and February to tackle higher crude oil costs resulting from U.

S. sanctions targeting Russian and Iranian crude, of which the teapots are big buyers.…