China’s oil import in August became highest in four months

   239

China is increasing the import of crude oil and oil product. In August 2016 the import has become the highest in four month since April of the same year. At the same time the government is reducing domestic production while the demand from small refineries remains high, according to data by the General Administration of Customs.

“China’s oil producers won’t resume production at some high-cost oil fields at current crude prices, so imports will remain quite strong,” Tian Miao, an analyst with North Square Blue Oak Ltd., said in an interview to Bloomberg, commenting on reasons for the higher imports.

This August China’s oil import rose by 1.5 million bpd as compared to the same period of the last year on the back of higher demand from the independent refineries, according to Forbes. Moreover, in August the country’s coal import has also jumped to 26.6 million tons – the number is the highest since December 2014. The government decided to lower domestic coal production as a step of their program to reduce the dramatic air pollution.