Crude oil imports from Asia, the world’s top crude oil importing continent, continued to decline in September due to uncertain demand and high retail fuel prices.
Refinitiv Oil Research forecasts that Asian crude oil imports will be 24.98 million barrels per day in September. This is similar to August levels (24.9 million barrels per day) and July levels (24.55 million barrels per day).
China, the world’s largest crude oil importer, continues to be the biggest contributor to the stagnation in Asian oil imports. Refinitiv predicted that China will import about 9.15 million barrels of crude oil per day in September. That’s down from the official figure from China’s customs authorities in August, which was 9.5 million barrels per day.
Retail diesel prices in China have fallen from a record 9.03 yuan ($1.3) per liter in mid-June, but are still at a high level compared to the previous price level, which was 8.1 yuan per liter.
India, the world’s second-largest crude oil importer, has kept diesel prices stable over the past five months. The government is trying to limit losses at state-owned oil refineries, which are India’s largest fuel producers.