China's crude oil imports showed an annual fall of 3.12% over January-August 2024 at 366.94 million tonnes, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC). Domestic refineries were challenged by narrow profits entering 2024, which made them cautious in purchasing raw materials, according to OilChem analysis.
Source: GACC
Source: Mysteel OilChem
In detail, the imports from Russia ranked first among all the suppliers, with a volume of 71.94 million tonnes over January-August, up 1.06% from last year and an all-time high since 2015, data showed.
Specially, the imports from Malaysia jumped to the fifth positive by volume, up 22.00% from the same period last year. China's crude imports from Malaysia, primarily Mal Blend, rose rapidly since 2019, and it was a persistent Top five player since 2023.
Nevertheless, China's imports from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, were down 8.64% from last year.
Looking ahead, domestic refineries' demand for crude oil are likely to remain active in the fourth quarter after the refineries resume production from maintenance extensively, but the volume is estimated to be restricted by the rising prices.
Written by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
Edited by Navy Liu, liuchuanjun@mysteel.com