2023-08-08 09:07:27
Government data showed – today, Tuesday – that China’s imports of crude oil fell 18.8% on a monthly basis in July, marking the lowest level since January, following major countries cut their exports and domestic inventories continued to rise.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total shipments of crude oil incoming to China – the world’s largest oil importer – amounted to 43.69 million tons in July, equivalent to 10.29 million barrels per day.
Imports were 12.67 million bpd in June, the second-highest level ever recorded.
However, imports increased by 17%, compared to 8.79 million barrels per day recorded a year ago, as the Chinese economy was affected by the Corona pandemic and widespread closures.
Emma Lee, China analyst at Vortexa Oil Analytics in Singapore, said that the monthly decline was driven by a decline in imports from the 3 largest crude exporters (the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia), which reduced their exports in light of lowering target production levels and increasing domestic demand or one of them.
She added that China’s onshore crude oil stocks exceeded 1.02 billion barrels at the end of July, and that the continuous rise of those stocks may allow Chinese refiners to reduce their purchases in the coming months.
State-owned refineries in China raised crude consumption rates in July, despite the decline in imports (Archyde.com)
High consumption
Zhou Zhuang Consulting data showed that despite the decline in overall imports, state-owned refineries raised crude consumption rates in July to an average of 78-82 percent, up two or three percentage points from June rates.
Gasoline consumption was expected to increase with the increase in travel demand in the summer.
Domestic gasoline stocks fell regarding 3% between mid-June and mid-July, while diesel stocks rose regarding 2% as demand continued to be affected by weak commodity export volumes and a slowdown in the real estate sector, according to consulting firm Long Chung.
Increased fuel margins in Asia pushed up Chinese oil product exports in July, supporting higher crude processing rates.
Refined fuel exports rose 55.8% – last month – to 5.31 million tons, from 3.41 million a year ago, and up from 4.51 million the previous month.
China imported 10.31 million tons of natural gas in July, up 18.5%, from 8.7 million tons a year earlier, when importers cut their purchases from the spot market due to higher global prices for liquefied natural gas.
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