Russia outpaces Saudi Arabia as China’s major oil supplier for 2nd month

According to media reports, Russia outpaced Saudi Arabia and became China’s top oil supplier in April for the second month in a row on the back of a rise in demand from independent refiners.

Russia’s shipments to China rose to 1.15 million barrels/day in April from 1.104 million barrels/day in March. The country also took the lead in oil supply to China on a yearly basis, although its shipments were down by 1.9% from a year earlier.

The data showed that Angola became China’s second largest oil supplier after Russia with shipments of 1.114 million barrels/day in April, up 15% on a yearly basis.

Saudi shipments to China, however, were down to 963,000 barrels/day in April from 1.07 million barrels/day in March. They were also down by 3.9% on a yearly basis. China’s oil imports from Iraq and Iran also decreased by 14.7% and 4.5% respectively.