China Daily Oil Summary: May Crude Imports Down 6% on Year

MNI (London) - China’s crude imports came in at 10.1mbd in May – a slight improvement from April but down 6% y/y according to Vortexa.

• China’s road congestion continued to be stable in the week to June 5, ticking up around 1%, according to BNEF. This put congestion levels at around 139% of January 2023 levels.
• China’s implied refinery runs declined for the third straight month to 14.5mbd in May, marking a year-on-year contraction for four consecutive months according to Vortexa calculations.
• Crude storage capacity utilisation rates are seen at 44.1% in the week to June 7, up 0.2 percentage points on the week. This is also down 3.93 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023, according to OilChem data.
• EXCLUSIVE: China’s upcoming third Plenum Session in July will focus strongly on real estate and the unified national market reform, alongside corporate vitality and regional coordinated development, advisors tell MNI,
• Carmakers sold 1.7m passenger vehicles in May, down 3% y/y but up 10% m/m, according to China Passenger Car Association preliminary statistics. New energy vehicles retailed 790k units, up 36% y/y.
• Authorities’ plans for a national carbon footprint accounting system will help Chinese firms gain international recognition and transform the country’s production pattern, according to Liu Jiaqi, an energy specialist from Liaoning University.