China’s implied oil demand rose 5.5 per cent in July from a year earlier, as refineries ramped up production after maintenance and amid hopes the economy may be steadying after two years of slower growth.

Surprisingly firm rebounds in China’s exports and imports in July have offered some hope that the world’s second-largest economy might be stabilising, although an imminent rebound still looks unlikely.

Data showed industrial output rose 9.7 per cent in July, above expectations.

China consumed 9.77 million barrels per day (mbpd) of oil last month, according to calculations based on preliminary government data. That was up from 9.26 mbpd in July 2012, but down 1.7 per cent from 9.94 mbpd in June.

“Real oil demand in July should be better than June because some of the fuel produced in June was restocked into commercial inventories,” said a Beijing-based oil analyst with an investment bank.

“There are some signs of stabilising, but it’s still too early to say oil demand is recovering,” he said.

Fuel demand in China, a key driver for global oil markets, rose 3.4 per cent in the first half of this year, below last year’s growth of about 4.5 per cent, the slowest in four years.