China's April crude oil imports fell 0.2% year-on-year due to narrowing refinery profits

Foreign News reported on May 7 that China’s April crude oil imports fell by 0.
2% compared to the same period last year.
Due to rising crude oil prices and increased inventories, the profit margins have narrowed, and refineries have reduced production
.


Data released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday showed that China imported 40.
358 million tons of crude oil in April, or 9.
82 million barrels per day
.


This is the lowest level since December last year, and lower than the 11.
69 million barrels per day in March
.


The total import volume from January to April was 179.
576 million tons, an increase of 7.
2% from the 167.
586 million tons in the same period of the previous year
.


Compared with the historically low oil price last year, crude oil prices are currently hovering above US$60 per barrel.
Refineries-especially small and independent refineries-are facing reduced profits due to large and more efficient private refineries.
Increased plant operations have led to an expansion of the overall fuel supply
.


Traders bought record amounts of light cycle oil (LCO), pushing diesel inventories to a multi-year high, and profit margins were hurt as a result
.
After the authorities took measures to crack down on illegal fuel trade, the inflow of LCO is expected to slow down
.


However, analysts said that strong domestic fuel demand and the rebound in refinery profit margins in recent weeks may prompt some refineries to shorten maintenance cycles, thereby boosting crude oil trade in the next few months
.


A director of energy consulting company FGE said: "We expect imports from May to June to be higher than market expectations
.
With the launch of new refinery capacity, crude oil imports from August to September should rise to 110-11.
5 million barrels/ Japan
.
”

Friday’s data also showed that China’s April refined oil exports fell by 14.
8% year-on-year to 6.
82 million tons
.
The total export volume from January to April was 24.
608 million tons, a decrease of 5.
3% from the 25.
994 million tons in the same period of the previous year
.


  China imported 10.
14 million tons of natural gas in April, an increase of 31.
5% from the same period last year; total imports from January to April were 39.
459 million tons, an increase of 22.
4% from 32.
238 million tons in the same period last year
.