Home>>Business
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Balanced energy supply-demand market for China in 2004

China's oil and coal markets will maintain the pattern featuring a robust demand and a balance between demand and supply in 2004, but the possibility of partial and structural supply shortages caused by seasonal and transportation factors cannot be ruled out.


PRINT DISCUSSION CHINESE SEND TO FRIEND


Department of market operation and regulation under China's Ministry of Commerce recently issued "Report on the Development of Capital Goods Market in 2003 and Prospects for 2004'. The report analyses that China's oil and coal markets will maintain the pattern featuring a robust demand and a balance between demand and supply in 2004, but the possibility of partial and structural supply shortages caused by seasonal and transportation factors cannot be ruled out.

China's consumption of crude oil in 2004 is expected to stand at 270 million tons with net import exceeding 100 million tons. The consumption of petrol, diesel oil and kerosene is expected to reach 136 million tons, up 4.6 percent over 2003. There will be uplift in market price from that of the previous year. Oil refining industry will embrace a good opportunity for development with profit maintaining an upward trend though the growth rate would be lower than that of the previous year.

For a long time in the past, China's oil market has maintained a robust growth in demand. The growth rate of China��s demand for oil products last year reached 11.4 percent, 7.4 percentage points higher than the previous year, thereby making China's oil trade volume surpass that of Japan and the country the second largest oil importer in the world following the United States.

The report predicts that the price of raw coal in 2004 will maintain a growth trend since the end of 2003. Affected by factors such as transportation and continuously increasing demand, coal markets in southeast coastal areas will continue to see supply shortages. As it turns warm, the supply-demand situation in the coal market tends to be smooth. The pattern featuring a rough supply-demand balance and basic stable price will be maintained. It is hopeful that the coal industry will turn from a relatively rapid increase to steady development.

The year 2003 saw a coal price hike based on expanding demand in China's coal market. Since winter in 2003, with the nation's intensified power shortages and accelerated development in metallurgical, chemical, and construction material industries etc. there appeared serious shortages in resources such as power, coal and coking coal, resulting in soaring marked price.

By People's Daily Online


Questions?Comments? Click here
    Advanced






Energy giant committed to long-term growth

China to host int'l hydrogen energy forum in late May of 2004

IEA: China will be the 2nd biggest oil consumer in 2004





 


Israel's killing of Yassin fuels conflict: Commentary ( 2 Messages)

How the US could improve its image abroad ( 14 Messages)

US urged not to fingerprint Chinese ( 10 Messages)

China hunts corrupt officials who abscond overseas ( 3 Messages)

Seven Chinese activists land on Diaoyu Islands ( 4 Messages)



Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved