China’s crude imports rebounded in July following a temporary ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, though analysts are doubtful the trend will continue as oil prices rise again.
Chinese imports of crude from Gulf nations doubled month on month in July in terms of volume, while the value of those shipments rose 60.1 per cent, official customs data showed on Thursday.
Purchases from the Gulf – dominated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – accounted for 27.6 per cent of China’s total crude imports in July, rising over 10 percentage points from the month before.
“The oil flow was likely due to the temporary ceasefire in June and July, as well as lower oil prices during that period,” said Chim Lee, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Given that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has declined again and oil prices have gone up, we’re sceptical that imports will continue to rise as much as it did on a sequential basis,” he added.
In July, China’s total crude imports rose 22.1 per cent month on month to 35.73 million tonnes.
