BEIJING: China’s exports of key refined products diesel, gasoline and kerosene all fell month-on-month in September, data showed on Wednesday, as export margins narrowed through the month and domestic fuel demand improved.
Exports of diesel, the biggest fuel by share of refinery output, last month totalled 1.18 million metric tons, down 31.7% from last September’s relatively high 1.73 million tons, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Shipments eased slightly month-on-month, falling 6.35% from August’s 1.26 million tons.
This was consistent with analyst forecasts from LSEG, which projected China’s September diesel exports at 1.14 million tons.
Regional refining margins fell from $10.65 per barrel at the start of September to around $6.70 at the end of the month.
Nonetheless, cumulative diesel exports for the first nine months of the year were up 117.1% versus the same period in 2022.
Domestic diesel demand so far this year has faced significant headwinds from China’s ongoing property slowdown and weak export demand from key trade partners, though an uptick in manufacturing activity in September likely gave some support to demand.
China’s gasoline exports, totalling 1.09 million tons, were up 64.7% on last year’s low base of 660,000 tons, but down 21% on August’s figure.
Domestic travel rebounded strongly the country’s Golden Week travel period, which ran from the end of September through the first week of October.
Trip numbers were up 71.3% from a year ago and 4.1% higher than in 2019, according to data released by state media outlet Xinhua.
Jet fuel exports stood at 1.45 million tons, down 6.45% from August, but up from last year’s 1.23 million tons. Domestic kerosene demand was also likely to have benefited from the domestic travel surge, though international air travel remained below pre-COVID levels.
Data from aviation analytics firms indicated that international airline capacity in and out of China in October this year stood at around 56% of the figure for October 2019, before the pandemic halted international travel.
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Fuel provided to international flights is counted as an export in customs statistics.
Total refined fuel exports, which includes marine bunker fuel, slipped month on month in September, customs data last week showed, with export margins narrowing.
The data released on Wednesday also showed China imported 5.69 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in September, down 2.8% from last year’s 5.90 million tons.
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