Weak diesel consumption squeezes demand for oil

Major shift: Delivery trucks at a warehouse in Zhengzhou, China. The sales of LNG-powered trucks soared 307% in the country last year. — AFP

BEIJING: China’s slumping consumption of diesel, as use of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered trucks grows, is weighing on domestic fuel demand, with forecasters warning of further risks from a sluggish economy hobbled by a prolonged crisis in the property sector.

While the world’s second-largest economy was long the growth engine for global oil demand, its peaking appetite for transport fuel, as an energy transition gathers pace in a sputtering economy, is now dampening world markets.