China’s crude oil imports from top supplier Russia were up 1% in 2024 to a record high versus 2023, while purchases from Saudi Arabia dropped 9%, data showed on Monday, as refiners chased discounted Russian supplies to cope with weakened margins. Volumes from Russia – including pipeline and seaborne supplies …
Read More »China’s Refining Output Dips for First Time in over Two Decades
Weaker fuel demand and depressed refining margins in 2024 resulted in the first annual decline in China’s refinery throughput in over 20 years, excluding the pandemic lockdown year of 2022, government data showed on Friday. Chinese refiners processed on average 14.13 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last …
Read More »China Extends its Lead over India as the World’s Biggest Importer of Coal
The world’s biggest importer of coal, China, has widened its lead over the second-largest buyer, India, to the highest in more than a decade, according to customs data compiled by Reuters. Last year, Chinese imports rose while India’s fell, widening the gap between China and India in coal buying, according …
Read More »China’s Coal Imports Hit Record High in 2024
China’s coal imports rose 14.4% in 2024 to a record high, official data showed on Monday, as lower international coal prices spurred buyers to substitute imports for domestic supply. Coal imports for the year totalled 542.7-million metric tons, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, up from 474.42-million tons in …
Read More »China and India Stand to Lose from U.S. Sanctions on Russian Oil Trade
The United States is set to impose some of the harshest sanctions yet on Russia’s oil industry, Reuters has reported. According to a purported U.S. Treasury document circulating among traders in Europe and Asia, some 180 vessels, several senior Russian oil executives, dozens of traders and two major oil companies …
Read More »South Africa Looks to Attract Chinese Firms to Its $27-Billion EV Industry
South Africa’s recently adopted tax breaks for electric vehicle production have already piqued the interest of three Chinese EV manufacturers to invest in new-energy vehicles in the African country, an official at the local automotive association told Bloomberg. Three car makers from China have already signed non-disclosure agreements with the …
Read More »China Issues Second Batch of Crude Oil Import Quotas
China has just given a potential boost to its crude oil imports as it has issued a second batch of import quotas for 2025 to its independent refiners, trade sources told Reuters on Monday. Unlike the state refiners, private refiners in China need to be granted import quotas to be …
Read More »Oil Prices Rise on China Growth Optimism and Strong US Demand
Crude oil prices were heading towards a weekly gain earlier today following an update from the World Bank on the growth prospects of the Chinese economy next year. Brent crude was trading at $73.18 per barrel at the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate at $69.58 per barrel, after …
Read More »Oil Prices Steady as Markets Weigh Fed Rate Cut Expectations, Chinese Demand
Oil prices settled little changed on Friday as markets weighed Chinese demand and interest rate-cut expectations after data showed cooling US inflation. Brent crude futures closed up 6 cents, or 0.08%, at $72.94 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 8 cents, or 0.12%, at $69.46 per barrel. …
Read More »China’s Coal Imports from Australia Rise to Highest Level since April 2020
China’s coal imports from Australia rose to their highest in more than four years in November, customs data showed on Friday, as shipments continue to recover from an unofficial ban on Australian coal that was lifted in January 2023. Australian coal imports were 9.3 million metric tons in November, according …
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