China Cuts Back on Venezuela Oil Purchases After U.S. Sanctions Relief

Chinese independent refiners, the biggest customers of Venezuela’s crude before the U.S. sanctions relief, are now holding back fresh purchases of oil from the Latin American country due to unpredictable discounts on cargoes after international majors returned to Venezuelan trades, trading sources in China have told Reuters. China and its independent refiners were buying Venezuelan crude even under the U.S. sanctions, providing an outlet to Venezuela’s oil. But now the trades with crude from the country holding the world’s largest…