China April crude oil imports up

BEIJING: China’s April crude oil imports slowed from the previous month but rose 7.5% from a year earlier due to abundant deliveries of sanctioned shipments and as state refiners built stocks during maintenance shutdowns.

April imports into the world’s largest buyer totalled 48.06 million metric tons, according to the General Administration of Customs, equivalent to 11.69 million barrels per day (bpd).

This is lower versus 12.1 million bpd in March but higher compared with 10.88 million bpd in April of 2024.

Following record imports of Iranian oil in March, Iranian shipments including crude oil and condensate - mostly passed off as Malaysian - stayed resilient at near 1.5 million bpd, Vortexa Analytics estimated.