Published on June 26, 2017

China, India and Japan are the leading nations in terms of growth and development in Asia. But in past few months these three countries has significantly affected the growth of oil demand in the Asian continent. A fuel glut in China and declining population in Japan are holding back crude oil demand growth in three of the world's top four oil buyers. The three countries make up a fifth of 97 million barrels per day (bpd) in global oil consumption, and any hiccups among them will mean lower-than-expected oil demand growth in Asia, helping to undercut the OPEC-led effort to support prices. In China, competing with the United States as the world's biggest oil importer, imports in May were still at a near record of 9 million bpd, a ominous cut in refinery operations is set to hit demand for crude oil in the third quarter. In India, which overtook Japan as the world's third-biggest oil importer last year, crude imports fell by more than 4 percent between April and May to around 4.2 million bpd, as after-effects of the country's recent demonetization programme hit consumption. For the first five months of the year, India's imports are about flat to the same period last year, following an annual rise of 7.4 percent last year. In Japan, Asia's most advanced economy, oil demand has been in structural decline for years due to a declining, ageing population, and the rise of cars with better mileage or that use alternative fuels. Coupled with plentiful supplies, the stuttering demand in Asia has contributed to a 20 percent price fall for Brent crude oil to around $45 per barrel, in what is the biggest slump in a first half of a year since 1997.