China cut its oil imports in half. No one knows why.

After Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, China stopped buying about 5 million barrels a day, keeping oil near $100 instead of $200.

China oil imports — Joe Mabel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

When Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz five months ago, experts predicted oil could spike to $150 or $200 a barrel. It has barely topped $100. According to Rogé Karma, writing in The Atlantic, the reason may be China, which abruptly cut its oil imports by half.

China was already the world'…