China’s Crude Oil Purchases Rebound in July From Near-Decade Low
(Bloomberg) -- China’s crude oil imports rebounded last month from a near-decade low, after flows through the Strait of Hormuz picked up and refiners boosted purchases from nations outside the Middle East including Russia.
Pipeline and seaborne flows rose to 35.73 million tons in July, according to customs data released Friday. That’s up 22% from June, when shipments hit the lowest since October 2016. The volume for last month is equivalent to 8.45 million barrels a day, well below the pace in the same period last year.
Oil flows from the Gulf had ramped up following an interim peace deal between the US and Iran in June, but a recent escalation of hostilities has snarled Hormuz traffic once again. There’s also been a spillover to the Red Sea, crimping exports from Saudi Arabia, one of the Asian nation’s top suppliers. Beijing has been snapping up cargoes from Russia to fill the gaps.
Meanwhile, coal imports totaled 42.73 million tons in July, up 20% on an annual basis, after a deadly accident in Shanxi province in late May crimped domestic production. Natural gas imports fell 0.9% on-year, as liquefied supplies from the Middle East continued to be impacted by the war.
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