China Daily Oil Summary: Crude Imports Falling

Chinese crude oil imports fell to 42.45mn tons in November, down from 48.97mn tons in October and the lowest monthly level since April, customs data showed.

• Chinese refiners are bringing in fewer cargoes as they are forced to stick to a tight quota on the exports of fuels through year-end.
• China’s seaborne crude imports fell below the 10mbd mark in November for the first time since February according to Vortexa - the first y/y decrease in crude imports compared to the prior 9-months which have consistently been at least 10% higher.
• China’s gasoil apparent consumption is forecast to rise 3.86% on the year in 2023 to 221.47m mt amid a gradual recovery following the pandemic, according to OilChem.
• China should explore underground spaces to expand its storage capacity for natural gas and oil, Sun Longde, chief expert at CNPC Think Tank said.
• POLICY: China's exports rose 0.5% y/y in November, up from October's 6.4% y/y fall, the first increase in seven months, beating the consensus of a 0.3% y/y decrease, data released by Customs on Thursday showed.
• POLICY: China's expansionary macro policy has proved less effective in boosting the economy and have not offset the economy's slowdown compared to traditional growth drivers, which have faded, said Wang Yiming, a member of The People's Bank of China (PBOC) monetary policy committee during Global Wealth Management Forum on Thursday.
• YUAN: The currency strengthened to 7.1513 against the dollar from 7.1571 on Wednesday.