China’s crude oil imports surge 39% on year in May

According the media reports, preliminary data released by the General Administration of Customs showed that China imported 32.24 million tons of crude oil in May, an average of around 7.6 million barrels a day, up around 39% from 23.24 million tons in the same month of 2015. Strong demand from the country’s private refineries continued to keep the country’s crude oil imports strong for another month.

However, the latest figures showed monthly declines compared to the previous month’s 32.58 million tons. The monthly decrease in imports was reportedly driven by routine maintenances at some refineries.

In 2015, China’s crude oil imports climbed 8.8% to 335.5 million tons, an average of 6.7 million barrels a day.