China's daily crude oil imports in September reached their highest levels since May, as independent refiners look to boost their stockpiles ahead of winter, customs data showed on Friday.
Last month, shipments to the country reached 37.12 million tons, or 9.05 million barrels per day, up from 9.04 million barrels a day in August, an increase for the third consecutive month, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.
Customs data show that total crude imports for the first nine months of the year jumped 6 percent over the same period of 2017 to 336 million tonnes, or 8.98 million bpd.
"Crude consumption rates have been rising since September," said a trader in crude with an independent refining firm before publishing the data. With the demand for fuel steady, we were buying crude oil, which pushed some of the higher crude prices higher. "
"The growth of crude imports slowed in September (in part) because of a likely positive growth in domestic oil production," Sengik Tee, a consultant with Beijing-based SEA Energy, told Reuters.
Brent crude futures were up $ 80.60 a barrel today, up more than 20 percent since the start of the year.
China raised oil import quotas for non-governmental companies in 2019, potentially boosting crude imports.
