Chinese crude imports fall

OREANDA-NEWS. China's crude imports declined in March to their lowest level since October. But imports over the first quarter were far higher than a year earlier.

China imported a net 6.18mn b/d of crude last month, early customs data show. This was a decline of 460,000 b/d from February net imports and the country's lowest intake in five months, but still 270,000 b/d higher than February a year earlier.

Net crude imports in the first quarter were 450,000 b/d, or 8pc higher than a year earlier. Net crude imports in January last year set a record for the time, of 6.63mn b/d, but they fell steeply in February-March to just 5.7mn b/d. Imports last month seemed low, but they averaged 6.4mn b/d in February-March.

China's crude requirements will be lower in the second quarter, when heavy refinery maintenance is scheduled, than in the first, when refiners rebuilt diesel stocks. Refinery maintenance got under way in earnest this month, with 320,000 b/d of crude unit capacity scheduled to shut for maintenance. Shutdowns will peak in May when 1mn b/d goes off line. 

China imported 300,000 b/d of fuel oil in March, down from 360,000 b/d in February, the early data indicate without giving a value for exports. And the country imported an estimated net 150,000 b/d of oil products excluding fuel oil.