China consumed about 10.24 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, down almost 380,000 bpd from a record daily consumption volume reached in April, Reuters calculations showed.
The drop in demand, excluding oil stocks adjustment, was mainly due to a 460,000 bpd decline in crude throughput from April as independent refiners kick-start maintenance.
China processed 10.42 million bpd of crude oil in May, up 0.8 percent from the year earlier period, but down a notch from April's 10.88 million bpd. For January-May, crude runs rose 2.5 percent to 10.63 million bpd.
Crude throughput is likely to drop in September as the G-20 summit is set to reduce refinery runs within the 300-kilometer radius of Hangzhou due to environmental restrictions, Michal Meidan and Amrita Sen, analysts with Energy Aspect wrote in a research note.
Net fuel export fell to 182,900 bpd in May, down 33 percent from the previous month.
C-FUEP-PRM The implied oil demand is a sum of net imports of refined fuel and domestic crude throughput. Reuters will publish a breakdown of demand calculation later this month based on products and adjusted for changes in fuel inventory.