What Happened to the “China Factor” in Oil Prices?

Oil prices are suddenly at $58 per barrel, down from $77 a barrel in July.

What, did China suddenly stop using oil? Wasn’t China’s gluttonous demand the cause for the rising oil prices? What happened?

Last year, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China consumed less crude oil than it did in 2004. But prices went up.

This year, in September, China’s oil imports were up 24% over last year but the global prices went down! Whoops!

It seems the western analysts who have been saying China has been causing oil prices to go up have it backwards.

The more China uses, the lower the prices are. No?

What do you think?