China’s independent refining sector’s feedstock imports in May tumbled to a 34-month low as the prolonged lockdown in major cities capped crude buying. Inflows could improve in June as COVID-19 restrictions gradually ease with cheap Russian deliveries rising, industry sources said June 6.
The private refining sector’s overall feedstock imports, including crude oil, bitumen blend and fuel oil, fell 30.7% year on year to 10.88 million mt in May, marking the lowest monthly shipments since August 2019, latest S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed. The imports also fell 1.4% from the 26-month low in April. Faltering domestic fuel consumption amid the resurgence in infections led to high oil products inventories, dampening the independent refineries’ feedstock buying for May deliveries. Hence, most of the small-sized independent refineries in Shandong and the integrated Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical […]