China's August refined fuel exports exceed pre-Iran war levels, jet fuel exports hit record high

BEIJING: China’s exports of refined oil products in August rose 12.7% year-on-year amid the Iran war, with jet fuel exports hitting a record high, customs data showed on Friday.

China, a key exporter of refined oil products in Asia, restricted exports of refined products, including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, in mid-March to safeguard domestic supplies amid risks to supplies from the Middle East.

 However, Beijing began easing the restrictions in mid-July and is expected to continue to ease export controls in September, enabling it to profit from higher overseas margins.

Exports of refined oil products, which include diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and marine fuel, totalled 6.01 million metric tons in August.

However, in the first eight months, the country exported 34.24 million tons of refined oil products, down 9.6% year-on-year.

 Jet fuel exports rose 41.4% year-on-year to 2.55 million tons in August, hitting a monthly record.

China’s fuel exports edge back towards levels before Iran war as Beijing eases curbs

In the first eight months, jet fuel exports were down 14.4% year-on-year at 11.76 million tons.

Diesel exports rose 42.1% year-on-year to 1.33 million tons in August, the highest since March 2024. In the first eight months of the year, diesel exports were 5.9% higher at 4.84 million tons.

Gasoline exports stood at 700,000 tons in August, down 17.5% year-on-year but the highest since October last year.

From January to August, China exported 2.42 million tons of gasoline, down 57.4% from the same period last year.

The data also showed that LNG imports fell 17.8% year-on-year to 5.16 million tons in August.

China’s LNG imports fell 6.8% year-on-year to 38.86 million tons in the first eight months.