OREANDA-NEWS. March 01, 2013. China is usually the gorilla in the room when it comes to commodities demand, including for oil.

A recovery in oil demand from the world’s second-biggest economy can be seen in the latest statistics from China.

The fourth quarter of 2012 saw a sharp rebound in China’s thirst for oil. Demand hit a historical high in December at 10.6 million barrels a day. Demand during the summer languished at about 9 million barrels a day.

This year started strongly, too. January saw China import crude oil at the third-highest rate on record.

Oil demand for all of 2013 is expected to rise by 4.8%, according to a research institute affiliated with China’s largest energy producer, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The researchers pointed to China’s economic rebound as the key factor.

Analysts from Barclays in London and Singapore agree with this assessment. They are forecasting a jump in Chinese oil demand this year of roughly 5%, or an additional 480,000 barrels a day.

Lead Barclays analyst Sijin Cheng said in a recent report that “a faster-than-expected [economic] rebound could present an upside risk to that forecast.” Cheng added “an upside surprise [was] more likely on balance.”

Of course, China is only the demand side of the equation.