The Chinese government's penchant for obfuscating national economic data has become a major handicap for the global oil market, just as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war is making access to accurate numbers more important than ever.
Beijing has recently stopped publishing certain details on its oil trade in a move that complicates life for oil producers trying to calibrate their output by projecting global supply and demand, and increases the chances of their making a wrong call.
