China is building up its oil supply at a record clip to protect itself against a potential jump in oil prices or an interruption of supply, analysts tell Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, a columnist for The (U.K.) Telegraph.

China may be concerned about its oil supply given its conflict with other Asian nations in the South China Sea and the possibility of western sanctions against Russia's oil industry over the Ukraine conflict, Evans-Pritchard suggests.

China imported 6.81 million barrels a day of crude in April, an all-time peak, according to the International Energy Agency.

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Approximately1.4 million barrels a day went into storage, according to the agency, calling that "an unprecedented build."

The oil-buying binge wouldn't seem to be necessary for current consumption, he notes, as Chinese economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the first quarter from 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

China represents 40 percent of the growth in global oil demand, so heavy purchases by the nation push up crude prices.

July crude futures stood at $102.17 a barrel on the Nymex Monday morning, up 59 cents from Monday.

"China is putting a floor of sorts underneath the global oil market, calling into question predictions by the big oil trading banks that prices will deflate this year as more crude comes on stream from Libya, Iraq and Iran, and as the U.S. keeps adding supply shale," Evans-Pritchard writes.

That price rise stemmed from violence in Libya that again threatened to delay a possible increase in its crude exports.

"In light of the latest reports, any significant and lasting rise in the production level appears illusory," Commerzbank analysts write in a commentary obtained by The Associated Press. 

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