China has cut back its purchases of West African crude oil after refiners went on a two-month buying spree to build up reserves for the Lunar New Year later this month, traders said.

Chinese buyers so far have purchased 21 cargoes of West African crude for January loading, amounting to around 644,000 barrels per day (bpd), traders said.
Although about 10 cargoes remain unsold for the month, dealers said China was unlikely to buy more shipments for January as February cargoes were already trading.
The world’s second largest energy consumer purchased 24 cargoes in December, equivalent to around 735,000 bpd.
"Before the Lunar New Year, China was building its stocks as much as they could," a trader said.
“The decline is not that big of a deal. Demand remains strong.” China usually boosts oil purchases ahead of the Lunar New Year .
A sharp decline in international crude oil futures from last summer's record levels has also encouraged Chinese buying.
Taiwan purchased twice as many cargoes than in December, offsetting lower Chinese demand. Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp bought eight 950,000-barrel cargoes for January, traders said.
“This is the usual diet for Taiwan,” a trader said. “Sometimes you see a decline in buying because they see the cargoes as being too expensive and prefer to buy local grades.”