China’s imports from Saudi Arabia fell 21 per cent in May from a year earlier but retained their top ranking among suppliers for a ninth month in a row.
Customs data showed on Sunday (Jun 20).
Shipments from Saudi Arabia were 7.2 million tons last month, or 1.69 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Chinese Customs showed.
That compared to 6.47 million tons in April and 9.16 million in May 2020.
Imports from second-largest supplier Russia also dropped from a month earlier, to 5.44 million tons, or 1.28 million bpd.
The scale-backs by the top two exporters were in line with a steep annual decline of nearly 15 per cent to this year’s lowest total crude imports into China.
Imports from United Arab Emirates arrivals fell 25 per cent last month from year-ago levels.
That is a possible sign that Iranian oil shipments were slowing further from peaks early this year.
Amid talks between Tehran and world powers to revive the nuclear deal the United States exited in 2018.
Reuters has reported that Iran has sold record amounts of oil since late 2020, disguised as crude oil from other origins that included the UAE and Oman.
The customs’ database also showed a 3.6 per cent year-on-year rise to 1.04 million tons of imports from Malaysia.
Which traders said has been a key transshipment point for heavy crude blends from Venezuela.
Official data has consistently recorded zero imports from Caracas since October 2019.
As dominant state importer CNPC halted loading, fearful of US sanctions.
Venezuela oil, however, had slipped into China, passed on as Malaysian bitumen blend after transshipments in Malaysian waters, analysts said.
Imports from the United States reached 1.07 million tons, nearly doubled the level a year earlier.