BEIJING: China oil throughput rose 0.3% from June to 12.5 million barrels per day in July, official data showed, marking the first monthly increase since late February.
The National Bureau of Statistics said China processed 53.11 million metric tons of crude in July. Throughput still fell 15.8% from a year earlier.
June refinery runs had fallen to their lowest level in more than six years. China has cut crude processing and imports since supply disruptions and weaker domestic demand hit the market.
Private estimates also point to heavy stockpile withdrawals. Kpler estimated a 25 million-barrel draw in July, while Vortexa put the decline at 28 million barrels.
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Vortexa analyst Emma Li said the difference between those estimates and official balances may reflect smaller refineries excluded from national statistics. China does not publish detailed reserve data.
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Kpler estimated a further 26 million barrels had been withdrawn by August 17. The consultancy expects stock draws to accelerate through October.
China’s crude throughput fell 6.5% year-on-year in the first seven months to 396.96 million tons, or 13.67 million bpd. Domestic crude output rose 0.8% in July to 4.3 million bpd.
