China’s Energy Imports Plunge as War Chokes Hormuz Shipments
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese energy imports fell sharply in April, as the near-halt to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz choked a vital channel for crude oil and natural gas.
Crude cargoes dropped 20% year-on-year to 38.47 million tons, the lowest since July 2022, while gas fell 13% to 8.42 million tons, according to Chinese customs data on Saturday. Oil imports were also lower than the previous month, which included shipments that had already begun their journey from the Gulf before the US and Israeli air strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
The Middle East typically accounts for about half of China’s crude imports and nearly one-third of its liquefied natural gas. The initial batch of monthly customs figures don’t differentiate between seaborne LNG and gas delivered overland via pipelines, but ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler indicates that LNG purchases fell to an eight-year low in April.
Fears that oil could run short in the world’s biggest energy buyer have pushed the government to prioritize refined items such as diesel and gasoline for domestic use. As a result, oil product exports in April plunged 38% from last year to 3.12 million tons, the lowest in nearly a decade.
The disruption to gas supply has lifted demand for alternatives such as coal. However, Chinese purchases fell 13% to 33.08 million tons, the lowest since June last year, as the country leaned on its vast domestic output instead of seeking higher-priced imports.
The Persian Gulf is also a major supplier of aluminum. But China’s status as the world’s leading producer has allowed it to fill some of that gap, with exports rising 15% to 598,000 tons, the highest since November 2024. Steel exports, however, fell about 9% to 9.5 million tons, in part because of the recent emergence of the Middle East as an important buyer for Chinese mills.
China’s copper metal imports, meanwhile, edged higher to 452,000 tons, benefiting from lower international prices in March as the war fanned concerns over global economic growth. But copper concentrate imports fell around one-fifth from last year’s record to 2.35 million tons.
Among other metals, iron ore imports were slightly higher at nearly 104 million tons.
Soybean imports rose nearly 40% to 8.48 million tons as US cargoes combined with seasonal flows from Brazil. Next week’s presidential summit in Beijing could deliver more pledges to buy American commodities, as well as an update on Chinese sales of rare earths to the US. In April, China’s total exports of the strategic minerals rose 11% to 5,309 tons.
On the Wire
A major Chinese metals refiner is seeing a large volume of demand for platinum to deliver against a new local futures contract, a sign of how the product is luring more of the metal into the country.
China’s clean technology titans, hungry for export markets to boost flagging profits, aren’t letting a crisis go to waste.
The global steel industry’s green transition is threatened by continued spending on coal-based production and underinvestment in cleaner methods, according to a clean energy research group.
President Donald Trump is expected to press President Xi Jinping over China’s approach to Iran and hammer out details on a new board of trade when they meet this week in Beijing, senior US officials said Sunday.
China’s export growth rebounded more than expected despite disruptions to shipping caused by the war in Iran, as trade volumes swell due to an investment boom in artificial intelligence.
This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing)
Monday, May 11
- China’s inflation data for April, 09:30
- China to release April aggregate finance & money supply data by May 15
- China Rare Earth earnings webcast, 15:00
- Mysteel’s China-Indonesia Coal Conference in Jakarta, day 1
Tuesday, May 12
- China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report
- Mysteel’s China-Indonesia Coal Conference in Jakarta, day 2
Wednesday, May 13
- CCTD’s weekly online briefing on coal markets, 15:00
- Mysteel’s China-Indonesia Coal Conference in Jakarta, day 3
Thursday, May 14
- US President Donald Trump visits Beijing for summit with China’s Xi Jinping
Friday, May 15
- US President Donald Trump visits Beijing for summit with China’s Xi Jinping
- China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
(Updates with additional published and diary items. An earlier version corrected the spelling of Beijing in the ninth paragraph)
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