Chinese crude oil imports jumped by 11.5% in July from a year earlier as major state refiners boosted processing rates, official data showed on Thursday.
Last month, China imported 47.2 million metric tons of crude oil, which is equivalent to 11.12 million barrels per day (bpd), per data from the General Administration of Customs cited by Reuters.
The import level was 5.4% lower compared to June, when China’s crude imports surged to 12.14 million bpd to the highest in almost two years. The spike in June imports reflected both restocking after refinery maintenance and opportunistic buying by independent refiners amid steep discounts on sanctioned barrels.
Chinese independent refiners, the so-called ‘teapots’ stocked up on Iranian barrels in June, while their overall imports were lower in July from the previous month.
State refiners, however, boosted imports in July as they accelerated run rates last month after the end of the maintenance period.
China’s total refinery utilization rate increased to 71.84% in July, up by 1.02 percentage points compared to June and 3.56 percentage points higher compared to July 2024, according to estimates by consultancy Oilchem cited by Reuters.
In June, improved fuel margins and the end of spring maintenance boosted China’s oil refinery throughput to the highest level since September 2023.
China started accelerating crude oil imports in March and April, but the increased purchases weren’t necessarily a sign of recovering fuel demand in the world’s biggest crude importer. It’s more likely that Chinese refiners have been aggressively stockpiling cheaper crude amid uncertainties about sanctioned barrels going forward.
Analysts expected strong Chinese imports and refining output to have continued into July amid peak travel season and state-held refiners rebuilding fuel stocks.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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