China's August oil imports rise 6.5 pct as teapots return to market
BEIJING, (Reuters) - China’s crude oil imports rose 6.5 percent in August from a month earlier to their highest since May, boosted by a rebound in demand from smaller, independent refiners, customs data showed.
Arrivals last month were 38.38 million tonnes, or 9.04 million barrels per day (
This was up from 8.0 million
For the first eight months of the year, crude purchases stood at 299 million tonnes, up 6.5 percent, the data showed.
Independent refiners, known as teapots, wound back their crude buying earlier this year, shutting or suspending operations due to a combination of sinking diesel demand, higher crude prices and new tax rules.
However, a recent rise in fuel prices and improved margins have led to an in
Teapot buying in August rose to 6 million tonnes, or 1.4 million
Total gas imports in August were at 7.77 million tonnes, up 5.4 percent from 7.38 million in July, according to the data. In the year to date, imports were 57.18 million tonnes, an increase of 34.8 percent.
The increase comes after state-owned oil companies pledged to take measures in advance this year to prepare for potential shortages during the winter heating season.
Sinopec vowed to increase LNG spot cargo purchases, while CNOOC said this week it would give third-party users access to its major LNG import terminals.
For more details, click on TRADE/CN (Reporting by Josephine Mason and Meng Meng Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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