China’s refinery throughput increased by 7.5 percent annually in April, signaling a sustained recovery in crude processing, although the volumes were lower than the record-highs seen last November, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Reuters . Last month, refinery throughputs averaged 14.09 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 13.1 million bpd in April of 2020 and slightly up from 14.08 million bpd processed in March 2021, when throughput jumped by 20 percent compared to March 2020. The average crude processing volumes, however, were lower than the record-high 14.2 million bpd from November 2020 due to planned maintenance at some state-owned refineries as fuel stocks are still high. In May, refinery throughput is expected to remain steady compared to April as some state refiners are expected to return from maintenance, while some independent refiners are set for overhauls, analysts tell Reuters. For full 2020, […]