China crude imports down 15% on year, gas imports at 9-mth high

SINGAPORE: China's September crude oil imports fell 15.3% from a year earlier, data showed on Wednesday, as companies drew on inventories amid rising global prices and as tightened import quotas continued to constrain purchases.

Meanwhile, September natural gas imports rose to the highest since January at 10.62 million tonnes, according to data from the General Administration of Customs, as companies built up inventories ahead of the peak winter heating season amid a shortage of coal for electricity generation that has triggered widespread power outages.

China, the world's top crude oil buyer, brought in 41.05 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or about 9.99 million barrels per day (bpd). That compares with 10.49 million bpd in August and 11.8 million bpd a year earlier.

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Imports for the first 9 months of 2021 were down 6.8% from the same period last year at 387.4 million tonnes, dragged lower by a slowdown in purchases between April and August due to tightened quotas for both crude oil and refined fuel.