Overview
- Beijing customs reported January–February crude imports of 96.93 million tonnes, up 15.8% year on year to about 11.99 million barrels per day, even as the import bill fell 5.2% in US dollar terms.
- Ship-tracking by Kpler shows seaborne arrivals rose by 2.1 million barrels per day in January and 1.7 million barrels per day in February from a year earlier, with February at 11.47 million barrels per day versus January’s 10.88.
- Higher refinery runs and sustained state and commercial stockpiling drove the increase, with the Economist Intelligence Unit estimating China’s inventories at roughly 120 days of import cover.
- Since February 28, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran have largely stalled commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and refineries in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq have scaled back crude output.
- Kpler noted Russian shipments to China nearly doubled in January–February as India earlier reduced purchases, while a new OFAC license running March 5 to April 4 allows Indian refiners to buy Russian crude and is beginning to redirect cargoes.