Lower energy imports in the new year?

Despite some strengthening of crude prices over the last few days on account of the heating up of the Russia-Ukraine war, pressure has been building up on the oil markets from all directions. A guessing game is thus on. How would the crude markets behave in the New Year? It may be too early to pass a judgment. Investors are fretting over weaker Chinese demand and a potential slowing in the pace of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, Reuters reported. For the last two decades, China has been the global growth engine, as far as global oil consumption is concerned. That is now changing. US President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to end China’s most-favoured-nation trading status and impose tariffs above 60 per cent on Chinese imports — much higher than those imposed during his first term.