Beijing, Nov. 7 (BNA): China’s crude oil imports fell in October to their lowest level since September 2018, as large state-owned refineries halted purchases due to price hikes while independent refineries were restricted with limited import quotas.
Data from the General Administration of Customs showed, on Sunday, that the largest importer of crude oil in the world brought 37.8 million tons last month, equivalent to 8.9 million barrels per day, according to Reuters.
This is down from 9.99 million barrels per day in September and 10.02 million barrels per day in the same period last year.
Customs data showed that during the January-October period, crude imports totaled 425.06 million tons, or 10.21 million barrels per day, down 7.2% year on year.
Crude oil imports fell on a monthly basis for a second month, and the decline occurred amid a 62% jump in crude oil prices this year as economies opened up globally from the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, driving up fuel demand.
Beijing’s crackdown on illegal trade in crude oil quotas and import allocations to independent oil refiners has also affected purchases.
Customs data on Sunday also showed that exports of China’s refined oil products for the month of October fell 31.8% year on year to 3.95 million tons.
Imports of natural gas, including pipes and LNG, were 9.38 million tons in October, up 24.6% from the previous year.
Oil imports are likely to rise in November, as refineries pledged to tackle shortages in diesel and gasoline supplies that have driven up fuel prices.
In addition, Beijing issued 14.89 million tons of crude oil import quotas to independent refineries for the remainder of 2021, and Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp. (ZPC), operator of China’s largest refinery, separately acquired a 12 million tons quota.
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