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China’s crude oil imports from Russia jumped by 25.6% month-on-month in August as Beijing last month welcomed the highest monthly crude arrivals so far this year, taking advantage of cheaper supplies.
China imported 2.21 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Russia in August, according to data from the Chinese General Customs Administration cited by Russian news agency Interfax.
The second-largest supplier of China last month was Malaysia, further supporting the estimates that Beijing has rushed to buy cheap discounted oil at a time when international benchmark prices also slipped. Malaysia is considered to be a stopover of crude oil from Iran and Venezuela en route to China, which hasn’t shied away from sanctioned supply at discount prices.
Chinese crude oil imports from Iraq jumped by 43.1% in August compared to July, while Saudi supply to China fell by 17.4%, according to the data compiled by Interfax.
As China imported in August the highest monthly volume of crude oil for a year, it sought dirt cheap supply from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, judging from the customs data about crude oil imports from Russia and Malaysia.
Last month, China imported the highest monthly volume of crude oil for a year as purchases increased with the fall in international oil prices when cargoes were contracted.
Chinese crude oil imports jumped to 11.56 million bpd in August—the highest level since August 2023 and a major rebound from the July low of 9.97 million bpd, per official Chinese data reported by Reuters columnist Clyde Russell.
The July imports of crude into China were the weakest in two years. Crude arrivals rebounded in August, but they were still 7% lower than in August 2023.
China’s crude import data for August cannot give a definite answer to the question that many analysts have been pondering over this year—whether Chinese imports reflect an uptick in demand or Beijing’s propensity to contract more volumes when oil prices are lower. The imports in August were likely contracted in the May and June windows when international crude oil prices were falling.
