China imported 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or about 4.33 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.

August imports were down 15.7 percent from 5.14 million bpd in July.

For the first eight months, China imported 7.4 percent more than a year earlier, at 180.3 million tonnes, or about 5.39 million bpd, the data showed.

The growth in crude imports outpaced growth in China's refinery crude throughput, indicating some of the imported barrels ended up in storage.

Top refiner Sinopec lifted less crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait against their contract volumes for its July loading programmes and lifted less crude oil from Saudi Arabia in August because of refinery maintenance, although the latter reductions were less than the cuts in July, traders have said.

 But China, which is Iran's top oil buyer, loaded full contracted volumes of Iranian oil in July after refiner Sinopec and the National Iranian Tanker Co resolved a freight dispute.

 However, crude imports from Iran might stay low as Tianjin refinery, owned by China's Sinopec Corp, is expected to have stopped buying condensate from Iran's South Pars field from July through September, partly because of a planned major plant overhaul.

China may raise gasoline and diesel retail prices again this week, after a fuel price hike on Aug 10, in line with a rebound in global crude oil prices.

The prices of Brent crude and US oil gained more than 9 percent in August.