China's crude oil imports rise

China's crude oil imports rose 0.8 percent in November from a year earlier to 23.56 million tons, or 5.76 million barrels a day (bpd), latest government data showed. Imports also grew 15.4 percent from a 13-month low of 20.41 million tons (4. 83 million) logged in October, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs. Crude oil imports in January-November period went up 3.2 percent from the same period of 2012 to 5.60 million bpd. China is expected to replace the US as the world's largest oil importer by the 2020s followed by India, as emerging economies are poised to claim most of the global energy supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said late November. China will be the main contributor to the increase in global energy use over the coming decade, and after that India will replace it as the world's biggest driving force for energy demand in the 2020s, according to a report released by the Paris-based IEA.