China's crude oil imports in July fell to the lowest since January calculated on a daily basis as refiners drew from high stockpiles after bumper purchases earlier in the year and as refineries scaled back production. The General Administration of Chinese Customs said on Tuesday China bought 34.74 million tonnes of crude oil in July, or about 8.18 million barrels per day (bpd), though this is still about 12 percent higher than the July 2016 level.
According to Reuters calculations, the July imports were down 7 percent compared to the June level of 8.79 million bpd that made China the world's largest crude buyer, overtaking the United States. "Teapots (independent refineries) overbought in the first half of 2017 and end-user product demand growth is slowing," said Nevyn Nah, Oil Products Analyst with consultancy Energy Aspects. "Environmental inspections were heavy in July which likely impacted manufacturing and demand."
Imports in the first seven months grew 13.6 percent year-on-year to 247 million tonnes, or 8.51 million bpd, customs data showed. The easing of imports occurred as China's end-June commercial crude oil inventory rose to the highest level since September 2016, marking the third month of increases.
To cope with overflowing stocks of crude oil as well as slowing retail fuel sales in face of fierce competitions from independents, top refiner Sinopec Corp has since July scaled back refinery operations, Reuters has reported, which also likely impacted crude oil imports.
According to customers data, exports of refined fuel gained 8.4 percent in the first seven months over a year ago at 28.21 million tonnes, with July exports at 4.55 million tonnes were largely flat with a year ago and compared to 4.2 million tonnes in June. Natural gas imports rose 3 percent - according to Reuters calculations - from June to 5.75 million tonnes. Imports during the first seven months expanded 20.7 percent over a year ago at 36.82 million tonnes, customs data showed.