China's crude oil imports in July fell to 19-mil mt, down 14.68% from the previous month, 3.21% lower than a year earlier, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
Market sources ascribed the on-month drop to less crude oil throughput of state-owned refiners Sinopec and PetroChina, both of which had refineries under maintenances in July.
Crude oil imports in the first seven months added up to 137-mil mt, up 24% year-on-year, the data showed.
Chinese major refineries were stepping up their crude oil consumption this year, which explained the year-on-year rise, the sources denoted.
China exported 170,000mt of crude oil in July, up 30.77% on month, down 60.47% year-on-year; crude oil exports aggregated 1.31-mil mt from January to July, sharply down 56.33% year-on-year, the GAC data also indicated.
China's Crude oil Imports & Exports in Jul'10 | Unit: -mil mt | ||||
Jul'10 | MOM % | YOY % | Jan-Jul'10 | YOY % | |
Imports | 19.00 | -14.68% | -3.21% | 136.97 | 24.21% |
Exports | 0.17 | 30.77% | -60.47% | 1.31 | -56.33% |
Source: General Administration of Customs of PRC | |||||