| SINGAPORE: China has boosted imports of Iranian crude by a quarter so far this year, making up for oil shipments cut by refiners in Japan and South Korea due in part to fears over TehranÂ’s stand-off with the West, national data shows. The official figures suggest Iran, which has started to hint it might use its oil as a tool in the row with the US and other countries over its nuclear programme, has a ready buyer in China, which has been hesitant to confront Tehran. ChinaÂ’s crude imports from Iran are up 74,000bpd in the first four months of the year, according to official data released last week. |