Chinese oil firms will trim crude oil throughput at major refineries to a 35-month low in April after a large cut in March, a Reuters poll showed, as maintenance remains heavy amid ongoing refining losses despite a fuel price hike last month.
The development could herald slowing fuel demand in the world's second-largest oil consuming market in the short term if it turned out to be consistent with changes in nation-wide crude throughput and if China's fuel stocks continued bulging.
The 12 plants, which make up nearly a third of China's capacity and are located mostly in coastal areas, plan to process 2.62 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in April, the poll showed.
The daily rate in April, which accounts for about 80 percent of their refining capacity, will be the lowest since June 2009, when oil demand was hit by a global economic downturn. The refineries processed around 2.68 million bpd of crude last month, slightly higher than an initial plan of 2.64 million bpd, which would have been the lowest in 31 months.
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