Russia is cementing its position as the main oil supplier to China, the world's biggest net importer and growth market for the fuel, taking over the lead from Saudi Arabia in the first 10 months of the year, customs data showed on Friday. Russia also took the monthly lead back from Angola, which briefly had top supply spot to China in September, the data showed.
Chinese crude oil imports from Russia in October climbed 39 percent on a year earlier to 1.12 million barrels per day (bpd), making it the biggest supplier. That also left it the largest supplier over the first 10 months of the year, totalling around 1.03 million bpd in that period, customs data showed.
China's total crude oil imports in October have, however, dropped from a record high the previous month to their lowest on a daily basis since January. Independent refineries have cut back purchases because of higher prices and tighter government controls into their import activities, which are highly regulated. Crude oil imports from Iran in October also rose, jumping 129 percent year-on-year to 773,860 bpd, while imports from Iraq rose 60 percent to 875,400 bpd.
Imports from Saudi Arabia, traditionally the biggest supplier to China, eased 0.28 percent to 935,800 bpd. The data comes just days ahead of a November 30 meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to finalise a planned production cut aimed at propping up prices, which continue to languish below $50 per barrel due to oversupply. Exemptions to the planned cuts were given to Libya and Nigeria, where output has suffered from conflict, and sanctions-hit Iran.
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