China is moving forward with plans to buy up oil for its emergency reserves after an epic price crash, Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the matter, EDNews reports citing Vestnik Kavkaza.
"The world’s biggest importer is taking advantage of a 60% plunge this year to snatch up cheaper barrels for its stockpiles," the agency writes.
According to sources, Beijing has asked government agencies to quickly coordinate filling tanks and using financial tools like options to lock in current low prices. In addition to state-owned reserves, Beijing may use commercial space for storage as well, while also encouraging companies to fill their own tanks.
Bloomberg reported that the initial target is to hold government stockpiles equivalent to 90 days of net imports, which could eventually be expanded to as much as 180 days when including commercial reserves.