Quote of The Day: How Gasoline Prices Impact Consumer Spending...

"Every penny increase in the price of gas at the pump equates to a loss of $1.0 t0 $1.5 billion in lost consumer spending in other areas."

Bloomberg News

Coal, Not Oil Dominates China's Energy Consumption...

Coal powers the Chinese economy.

The country is the world’s largest coal consumer, gobbling up nearly 50% of the world’s coal consumption in 2009.

Coal accounted for 71% of China’s energy in 2008—more than 3 times the United States’ share. By contrast, oil accounts for only 19% of China's total energy consumption

The Electricity Council estimates that the country’s coal demand will reach 1.92 billion tons in 2011, up nearly +10% from 2010.

China hasn’t always been such a glutton for coal. In fact, coal consumption actually declined from 1996 to 2000. However, consumption has shot up +180% since then and China accounted for 80% of demand growth between 1990 and 2010.

This is because demand for electricity exploded over that time.

China’s rapid urbanization and rising middle class has led to an exponential number of new refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances in homes. China sits atop the third-largest store of recoverable coal reserves, behind the U.S. and Russia.

Rising Oil Consumption in the Emerging Markets Will Persist...

Western Europe, France, Japan, Norway and the U.K. all use less oil on a per capita basis than they did in the 1970s.

This trend is why emerging countries, especially Asia, will be the epicenter of oil demand growth for years to come.

How U.S. Oil Consumption Compares to China's...

The U.S. consumes +21.7% of the world's daily oil production, more than double the +10.4% consumed by China. 

The USA's population is 311 million.  China's population is 1.319 billion or 1 billion greater than the USA.

Source: British Petroleum