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Highlights
- China’s crude oil imports plunged to the lowest level since September 2018.
- the country has brought 37.8Mt crude oil in the last month which is equivalent to nearly 8.9Mbpd.
- Piped LNG and other natural gas imports were 9.38Mt in the last month.
The world’s biggest crude oil importer, China has imported less amount of crude oil in the last month. The imports plunged to the lowest level since September 2018 as the state-owned refineries suspended the purchase because of skyrocketing prices. Additionally, the imports by independent refiners were restrained by limited quotas to import.
As per the data from the General Administration of Customs, the country has brought 37.8Mt crude oil in the last month which is equivalent to nearly 8.9Mbpd, down from 9.99Mbpd in September and 10.02Mbpd in the previous corresponding period.
Low imports due to higher commodity prices
China’s crude oil imports were down on a monthly basis for a second month and a decline has taken place due to a 62% hike in the prices of the world's largest traded commodity. The significant rise in the prices of crude oil is primarily linked with the higher energy demands as the economies across the globe have made a solid recovery from COVID-19 pandemics.
Crude oil barrels | Source: © Batareykin | Megapixl.com
The data also showed that the country's refined oil product exports for October month tumbled 31.8% on year to 3.95Mt.
Piped LNG and other natural gas imports were 9.38Mt in the last month, nearly 24.6% up from the previous corresponding period.
Bottom Line
China’s crude oil imports plunged in October to the three-year low level as refiners suspended purchase due to higher commodity prices.
