China: Oil imports fall in September for fifth straight month

Data released on Monday showed that China’s oil imports in September fell by 0.6% from a year earlier, driven by factories cutting back on purchases due to weak domestic fuel demand and lower export margins.

According to CNBC, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed that the world’s largest importer of crude oil imported 45.49 million tons in September, or about 11.07 million barrels per day.

September is the fifth consecutive month in which shipments have fallen on an annual basis, as imports in the same month last year reached 11.13 million barrels per day. They also decreased from 11.56 million barrels per day in August.

The data showed that total imports since the beginning of the year amounted to 412.39 million tons, or 10.99 million barrels per day, down 2.8% compared to the same period last year.

Imports fell despite Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, China’s newest refiner, starting up one of its two 200,000 barrel-per-day units in late September.

However, many smaller plants in Shandong province, where Yulong is based, are facing slower fuel consumption, especially diesel.

Customs data released today also showed China’s natural gas imports last month rose 18.1 percent from a year earlier to 11.99 million tons, bringing year-to-date purchases to 99.08 million tons, 13 percent higher than a year earlier.

Exports of refined oil products, which include diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and marine fuel, were 5.19 million tons, down 4.6 percent from a year earlier and down from 4.92 million tons in August.

Exports in the first nine months of the year fell 5.7 percent year-on-year to 45.2 million tons.