The latest trade data published by China’s General Administration of Customs showed that the country’s crude oil imports backed-off from all-time highs reached a month ago, as the state-run refineries entered planned maintenance while some independent refiners curbed operations.
Key Details via Reuters:
“May shipments were 39.05 million tonnes, or 9.2 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data released on Friday by the General Administration of Customs. That compared to 9.6 million bpd in April and 8.76 million bpd in May, 2017.
Imports for the first five months of 2018 were 190 million tonnes, customs said, without giving a comparison. Based on last year’s figures, the year-to-date levels represent an increase of 7.8 percent over a year earlier.
At least five independent plants in the eastern province of Shandong have been ordered to cut operating rates as Beijing aims for blue skies for a regional summit in the port city of Qingdao in June.
But May imports were up nearly 5 percent from a year earlier and were not too far off record levels as margins remained healthy for large state refiners.”
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