On Friday, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that Russia was still China’s top oil supplier in August for the second month in a row.
Last month, Russia supplied 5.8 million tonnes or 1.37 million bpd of crude oil to China, down by 3.7% year-on-year and also slipped from July’s 1.74 million bpd.
In the second place was Saudi Arabia with 5.26 million tonnes shipments or 1.24 million bpd, a sharp 32.5% reduction on a yearly basis. Iraq followed suit by sending 4.6 million tonnes, showing a slump by 20% from the previous month’s level as Iraq is compensating on its overproduction on a supply cuts pact.
From the Americas, China showed massive increases in oil buying. From the US, it doubled the purchases to 2.23 million tonnes, while from Brazil, the buying soared by 75% year-on-year to 4.15 million tonnes.
In the January-August period, Russia was also the top supplier to China at 57.1 million tonnes, up by 15.6% year-on-year. Imports from Saudi Arabia were in the second position, up by 6.1% from the same period a year ago to 55.8 million tonnes.
China’s total oil imports decreased in August, down from the highest levels seen in July and June, In the coming months, the number is estimated to go down further as inventories climb and processing margins narrow.
