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China's crude oil imports in July are up 11.5% on a year-on-year basis

China's crude oil imports in July rose by 11.5% compared to the same period a year earlier, as state-owned refining facilities maintained high operational rates. However, inbound shipments have slowed down month-on month after reaching their highest level in almost two years in June.

Data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed that the world's biggest crude oil importer imported 47.2 million tons of oil in June, which is equivalent to 11,12 million barrels a day. Data showed that the volume of oil imported in July was 5.4% less than 49.89 millions tons in June.

Muyu Zhu, a senior crude oil analyst with Kpler, said that independent refiners purchased heavily in June and built up inventory, which explains why their demand for crude in July was lower.

Customs data showed that total crude oil imports between January and July were 326.57 millions tons or 11,25 million bpd. This was an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period in the previous year.

According to Oilchem, the country's refinery utilization rate increased to 71.84%, an increase of 1.02 percentage points over June and 3.56 points over a year ago.

Oilchem reported that state-owned refiners have increased their production rates while independent refiners have decreased them.

It said that maintenance had reduced the overall refining output by 79 millions tons in July. However, three refineries, with a total capacity of 28,7 million tonnes, completed their maintenance and returned to service.

The data released on Thursday also showed that China's refined oil exports increased by 7.25% to 5.34 millions tons in July from the same period a year ago.

The data shows that natural gas imports, including piped gas as well as liquefied gas, fell by 2.1% on an annual basis to 10.63 millions tons. The data showed that natural gas imports, including piped gas and liquefied natural gases, fell 2.1% year-on-year to 10.63 million tons.

(source: Reuters)