Latest official Chinese oil stats, released 15 November, show that refinery runs averaged 14.06mn b/d for October, down 1mn b/d on a year earlier. Average runs of 14.18mn b/d for the first ten months of 2024 are down 2.5% year-on-year. This follows last week’s release of headline October import stats which show crude imports of 10.57mn b/d, also 1mn b/d below year-ago levels, whilst 10M 2024 imports of 10.98mn b/d are down 3.8% year-on-year.
Whilst final demand stats may be somewhat less bearish – the official stats only partly capture small independent refineries – with the IEA, EIA and Opec already revising down their China oil demand growth estimates (MEES, 15 November), there may be more downward revisions to come. (CONTINUED - 119 WORDS)