China’s crude %Oil imports rose 12% month-over-month in November and reached a 15-month high of 11.86 million barrels per day (bpd).
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that crude oil imports were up 14% from November 2023, marking the first year-over-year increase since April of this year.
Analysts say the rise in crude oil imports is typical for this time of year as winter approaches and comes after a particularly weak month for imports in October.
Still, China’s seaborne crude oil imports rose 7% from October to around 10.6 million barrels per day in November, a level last seen in June of this year.
Much of November’s crude oil imports were directed to storage in China as weak demand capped refinery crude throughput during the month.
China continues to struggle with a stagnant economy and weak consumer spending. The government in Beijing recently pledged more economic stimulus measures to boost growth.
With the rebound in November, China, the world’s top crude importer, saw its imports year-to-date decline 2.2%, or by 252,000 barrels per day, from 2023 levels.
On the flipside, China’s oil exports reached 5.23 million barrels in November, the highest level since June of this year, when shipments stood at 5.37 million barrels.
The November exports brought China’s total oil product exports for the first 11 months of this year to 54.39 million barrels, down 6.3% from the same period last year.
