Slowing China comes to oil's rescue

London

EVEN after China's slowing economy dragged crude to a six-year low, oil's second-biggest consumer remains the main safeguard against a further price meltdown.

While China's surprise currency devaluation helped trigger Brent crude's slump to about US$42 a barrel last month, the nation's stockpiling of oil can staunch further losses.

In the first seven months of the year, China purchased half a million barrels of crude in excess of its daily needs, the most for the period since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As the country gathers bargain barrels for …