Chinese Crude Imports 2% Down y-o-y in September

Chinese crude oil imports in September fell 2% y-o-y. The world’s biggest crude importer pulled in 40.24 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or 9.79 million bpd according to Chinese General Administration of Customs data.

• Chinese crude imports rose from 9.5 million bpd in August but remain below the 10 million bpd level set a year earlier.
• Imports for the first three quarters of the year totaled 370.4 million tonnes, or 9.9 million bpd, 4.3% below the corresponding period last year.
• State refineries have largely returned from maintenance while independent refiners have remained out of the market.
• Oil produce exports in September - including diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel oil - soared 36% from a year earlier to 5.64 million tonnes. Year-to-date exports were down 27.6% at 35.45 million tonnes due to export qutoas.
• Natural gas imports last month via pipelines and as LNG also rebounded to 10.15 million tonnes, the highest since January but were down 4.4% versus a year prior. Gas imports for the first nine months of the year were down 9.5% year-on-year at 81.16 million tonnes.