A metric used to gauge oil demand in China, the world's second-largest economy, show steady gains but at a slower pace than before, S&P Global Platts said.

Platts measured China's apparent oil demand, which measures the amount moving through domestic refineries against net imports, at 2.3 percent higher in December when compared with last year.

When using official government data, apparent oil demand last year declined 0.8 percent as the economy moved from a quantitative growth phase to a qualitative one. The assessment from Platts, however, said it found an increase because of activity at independent Chinese refineries.

"That said, the pace of growth fell in 2016 from 6.6 percent in 2015, when oil demand had been boosted by a crude oil price drop to levels just over $50 per barrel," Song Yen Ling, a senior analyst with Platts China Oil Analytics, said in an emailed report.

Ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch in December reported the Chinese economy could face headwinds this year, with the banking sector facing the brunt of the downturn. Government estimates of the Consumer Price Index, which gauges national inflation, came in well below the official target rate of 3 percent.

By January, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said growth was the slowest it's been in a quarter century, but still likely to top all other major economies.

Economists with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries expect the Chinese economy will grow by 6.2 percent in 2017, against a forecast of 6.7 percent last year.

China's central bank on Monday injected $14.5 billion into the financial system, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. A monetary policy for the year was described by Xinhua as "prudent and neutral."