China’s apparent oil demand in September rose 9.2% year-on-year to a record of 9.8mn b/d, according to Platts estimates based on recently released government data. This is the highest since the 9.77mn b/d seen in February, while the growth rate is also the highest since February 2011, when apparent demand expanded nearly 12% year-on-year to 9.66mn b/d.