China’s crude imports fell to a 27-month low of 9.096 million b/d or 38.47 million mt in December, but total imports over 2020 were up 7% year on year at 10.86 million b/d, General Administration of Customs data released Jan. 14 showed. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The last time monthly imports were lower was in September 2018 at 9.092 million b/d, GAC data showed. The 15.4% year-on-year fall in December crude imports was sharper than expected, with analysts pointing to a shortage of crude import quotas and destocking activity as the key reasons for the decline. As a result, the country’s year-on-year growth in crude oil imports over January-December narrowed to 7% from 9.2% over January-November. The GAC releases data in metric tons, which S&P Global Platts converts to barrels using a 7.33 conversion factor. On a metric tons […]