This is what is keeping crude oil and gas/diesel prices from skyrocketing

When Trump and Netanyahu started this war, much of the attention in the business world was focused on the price of crude oil (Brent, WTI) and the derivative products (gasoline, diesel, fertilizer, plastics).  When the Strait was closed and then reopened via the MOU, prices fluctuated accordingly, but what has been of most interest to me is that the market prices of those materials have not continued to rise as much as might be expected.

Everyone who tracks the news knows that the U.S. and other countries are tapping their "strategic petroleum reserves" stored underground (some small countries don't have such and are suffering disproportionately).  

The second group of factors that mitigated price rises was increased use of alternative energy, restrictions on energy usage, increased production in non-Gulf nations etc.

But from near the beginning, I heard analysts on Bloomberg say that China was modifying its policy on oil.  China apparently has immense reserves of stored oil, but were still net oil importers (see chart above for 2016-2026).  After the war started, they have markedly decreased their importation of oil, apparently using some of their reserves and altering domestic policies toward conservation.

Why?  In part, it's basic economic good sense when the Brent price goes from 50 to 90 to cut purchases.  But this is a super-smart country with well-thought-out international policies.  They also have a sort of alliance with Iran, which I believe was one of their sources for imported oil in recent years.   By cutting their monthly imports from 12 million to 7 million they buffer the world's loss of I think 5 million a day that was passing Hormuz.

Is it in their best interest (remembering that they think years/decades in advance, not election cycles) to keep the oil price rise modest so as not to harm the economies of the world they export to?  Or do they want to keep the price down because a huge price rise might cause the U.S. to stop the war and they would rather the war go on longer so the U.S. depletes its own reserves and the continuation of the war leads to more and more destruction of the U.S. military capabilities?  I suspect the latter, because I think there is way more erosion of U.S. capabilites in the Gulf than Washington has (or will) admit.

Also note that Iran wants to charge fees for transit of Hormuz and that those fees would be paid in Chinese yuan, not U.S. dollars.  (a relevant WSJ article is behind a paywall)  This was is weakening the U.S. military capabilities, depleting strategic petroleum reserves, ruining the U.S. diplomatic status around the world, and causing unhappiness and political dissent within the U.S.  China has a lot of control over how this will unfold.  Stay tuned.