China’s fuel oil imports surge in April

China’s fuel oil imports surged by 10 per cent in April compared to the previous year, reaching 2.93 million metric tons, Reuters reported citing the General Administration of Customs’ report on Monday. According to Reuters records, this figure represents the highest import level since 2020.

The imports for April, translating to approximately 620,180 barrels per day (bpd), saw a significant 48 per cent increase from March, driven by heightened shipments from Venezuela and Iran, as per sources familiar with trading activities.

These import volumes encompassed purchases under regular trade, subject to import duty and consumption tax, and imports into bonded storage, which totalled 2.21 million tons or around 467,800 bpd, marking the highest since at least 2020.

A Chinese trading executive attributed the spike in import volumes to increased supplies from Venezuela following the easing of sanctions, along with favourable refining margins for processing heavier materials.

Moreover, import trends indicated a rise as certain refiners boosted purchases ahead of anticipated price hikes amidst a global uptrend in the high-sulfur fuel oil market during the second quarter of the year.

Conversely, the country’s fuel oil exports in April stood at 1.64 million tons, approximately 10 per cent higher than the same period last year, primarily consisting of low-sulfur fuel oil.

This upsurge in exports coincided with heightened global bunker demand due to geopolitical shipping disruptions this year. The majority of exports are measured through sales from bonded storage for vessels navigating international routes.