Chinese Crude Imports Rebound in October: Official Data

Chinese crude imports rose to 43.14mn tonnes in October or 10.16 mn bpd the country’s first y-o-y rise since May according to the latest General Administration of Customs data.

• Crude imports were up from September’s 9.8 mn bpd.
• Chinese crude imports for the first 10 months of the year totalled 413.53 mn tonnes, or around 9.93 mn bpd, 2.7% below the corresponding period last year.
• Companies exported 4.456 mn tonnes of refined fuel last month, up 13% from a year before.
• Year-to-date fuel exports remained 24.5% below a year prior at 39.91 mn tonnes because of stricter export quotas earlier in the year which unexpectantly rose into the year end.
• Natural gas imports both via pipelines and as LNG dropped to the lowest level in two years at 7.61 mn tonnes in October.
• Year-to-date imports gas imports remained 10.4% lower than a year earlier at 88.73 mn tonnes. This has been driven by weaker demand for LNG cargoes which have soared in cost.