Saudi Top Supplier of Crude for China in April

Chinese crude imports from Russia totaled 7.1 million tonnes or 1.73 million bpd in April – down on March’s pace of 2.26mn bpd but 8.6% higher than a year prior according to customs data released Saturday.

• China’s crude oil imports from Saudi came in at 8.46 million tonnes or 2.06 million bpd in April, down slightly on March’s pace of 2.1 million bpd and 2.17mn bpd a year prior.
• Year to data imports from Russia have grown 26.5% to 32.4mn tonnes while those from Saudi have grown 2.9% to 31.28mn bpd.
• Imports from Malaysia arrived at 4.09 million tonnes in April, down from 4.56 million tonnes in March. Sanctioned Iranian and Venezualan crude barrels are often rebranded Malaysian to hide their origin.
• China's crude imports fell 16% to 10.36 million b-d in April, dropping from a 33-month high of 12.37 million bpd in March, while oil product exports hit a nine-month low, according to customs data out earlier last week.
• The fall in crude imports while Chinese refining remained near record pace saw refiners tap into domestic stockpiles.

source: Customs Data via Reuters