China Draws on Oil Stockpiles as Imports Hit Decade Low
Chinese refiners are drawing down record crude inventories to compensate for imports falling to their lowest level in ten years. State-run and independent plants are maintaining output curbs to minimize refining losses as weak fuel demand and high global prices pressure domestic margins.
China is tapping into record crude inventories as refiners slash imports to decade-lows to offset deepening processing losses. Seaborne arrivals may fall to 6.451 million barrels per day in May, a sharp decline from 8.1 million in April. For investors, this pullback by the world's largest importer caps global price gains despite ongoing Middle East supply disruptions.
### Inventory Draws Replace Expensive Imports Refiners have drawn on commercial stockpiles at a rate of 1 million barrels per day over the past three weeks. This shift follows a peak in inventories of 1.25 billion barrels in early May, according to data from Vortexa and Kpler. Global crude prices fell 19% in May even as the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed for a third month.
