Mubasher TV
Contact Us Advertising   العربية

China’s oil imports hit 6M-low on lower refiner purchases

China’s oil imports hit 6M-low on lower refiner purchases

Mubasher: China’s oil imports dropped in for the second month in a row, hitting the steepest level since December, official data showed on Friday, as lower margins and unsettled crude prices prompted some independent refiners to scale down their purchases.

In June, incoming shipments dropped 9% to 34.35 million tonnes, or 8.36 barrels per day (bpd), compared to 9.6 million bpd in May and 8.8 million bpd in the same month last year, the General Administration of Customs said.

Some state-owned and independent refineries, also known as “teapots” were closed for regular maintenance, other factories conducted extended shutdowns, taking advantage of weakening margins and four-year high crude prices.

Nevertheless, crude imports sustained a higher level in the first half of the year at 5.8% to 225 million tonnes compared to a year earlier.

Imported oil products plunged 26.5% to 2.22 million tonnes, whereas oil product exports dropped 22% to 4.78 million tonnes, official data said.

However, overall natural gas imports, including pipeline and liquefied gas, climbed 31% to 7.3 million tonnes year-on-year.

Moreover, year-to-date imports recorded 42.08 million tonnes, surging 35.4% from the same period last year.