CHINA imported less crude oil last month than in July, Customs data released yesterday showed, as refineries processed less crude amid soaring costs.
The situation could add pressure to the tight supply in the domestic refined oil product market, analysts said.
China imported 14.04 million tons of crude in August, equivalent to 3.3 million barrels a day, according to the General Administration of Customs. This compared with the July purchase of 14.83 million tons.
Still, the August imports represented a 19-percent rise on a yearly basis, but it's short of the 39-percent jump for July.
Sinopec Corp and PetroChina Co, the nation's two dominant oil refiners, cut their throughput because high crude costs would erode their refining margins with prices of refined fuel products being capped by the government.
In August, the government ordered the two companies to ensure fuel supply amid peak summer consumption.
Benchmark New York crude contracts reached a record high of US$78.77 per barrel on August 1. They were trading near the all-time high yesterday.
The nation's crude exports jumped to 300,000 tons in August from 70,000 tons in July on high global crude prices.
For the January-August period, China's crude imports totaled 110.4 million tons, up 15.3 percent year on year. Crude exports totaled 2.18 million tons in the first eight months, down 47.3 percent.
Meanwhile, China imported 24.28 million tons of refined oil products in the first eight months, down 5.7 percent over a year earlier. Refined products exports rose 25.3 percent to 10.28 million tons in the same period.