China's imports of crude oil, coal and soybeans rose in April from the same month last year, while cargoes of iron ore and copper dropped, customs data showed on Wednesday.
Commentary on soybeans
XIE HUILAN, ANALYST AT COFEED
"Soybean arrivals were not that big in March. Many have moved shipments to April due to VAT rate adjustment ... Most of the cargoes were Brazilian beans. Some U.S. shipments were delayed as well,"
Commentary on crude oil
WANG ZHAO, HEAD OF CRUDE OIL RESEARCH AT SUBLIME CHINA INFORMATION CO
"The crude imports exceeded our expectations as both domestic refinery production and margins do not appear to support such high volumes of purchases. We may see stockpiles rising as state-run refiners pre-stocked supplies in April from Iran and the U.S. anticipating the impact of sanctions."
ZHOU GUOXIAO, CRUDE OIL ANALYST AT JLC
"Buying by teapot (refiners) was really strong in April, and higher than what we have expected. They have scooped up volumes as global oil prices go up and prestocked as they prepare to ramp up production after maintenance."
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