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China June petroleum imports fall 11% on year, H1 imports down 2.3%.

China's petroleum imports in June were down 11% from a high base a year previously, authorities customizeds data showed on Friday, as independent refiners continued to suppress production due to weak profit margins and as fuel need stayed warm.

June arrivals into the world's biggest petroleum purchaser were 46.45 million metric heaps, or about 11.3 million barrels a. day (bpd), information from the General Administration of Customs. revealed.

That's up slightly from 11.06 million bpd in May however off. from an all-time high at 12.67 million bpd in June 2023.

Greater crude oil costs and weaker-than-expected domestic. usages for both fuel and diesel are weighing on. refining margins.

Imports for the first-half of 2024 amounted to about 275. million heaps, or 11.05 million bpd, down 2.3% on the year, in. among the couple of and the steepest yearly declines for year-to-date. volumes since early 2023, according to ' records of. customizeds information.

Gas demand in between January and May fell almost 2%. year-on-year which of diesel dropped 14%, according to. Chinese commodities consultancy Sublime China Details.

Large refineries such as independently controlled Hengli. Petrochemical, state-run Sinopec's Zhanjiang and PetroChina's. Dalian plants finished prepared maintenance in late May and. June, supporting in part purchases for the month.

However, smaller independent plants in the eastern refining. center of Shandong that comprise one-fifth of the country's total. imports, continued to curb buying in face of extended thin. margins, with some shifting to lower-priced fuel oil as. feedstock.

Crude oil imports may get additional support in the. coming months from a government required to increase state reserves. by nearly 60 million barrels by next March.

(source: Reuters)