China’s crude imports fall to 39-month low

Oil

China’s crude oil imports declined by 1.09M b/d m-o-m and 1.13M b/d y-o-y to 8.94M b/d in October, falling for the second month in a row to the lowest level since July 2018, according to preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs. Imports were restrained by rising global crude prices that limited purchasing from large state-owned refiners, while a lack of available import quotas also hampered buying from independent refiners, according to Reuters. Across the first ten months of the year crude imports averaged 10.27M b/d, a decline of 750K b/d compared to the same period during 2020.