World News | Russia became China’s largest oil supplier for the third consecutive month in July

Beijing [China]Aug. 21 (ANI): Russia became China’s largest oil supplier for the third consecutive month in July, media reports said, citing data released by China’s General Administration of Customs on Saturday.

At the same time, independent refiners have stepped up purchases of discounted supplies while cutting shipments from rival suppliers such as Angola and Brazil.

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According to international news reports, Russia’s oil imports totaled 7.15 million tonnes, including supplies via the East Siberian Pacific pipeline and seaborne cargoes from Russian ports in Europe and the Far East, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

Still, Russia’s July supply (equivalent to about 1.68 million bpd) was below the record of nearly 2 million bpd in May. China is Russia’s largest oil buyer. Imports from second-ranked Saudi Arabia rebounded last month to 6.56 million tonnes, or 1.54 million bpd, from June, the lowest level in more than three years but still slightly below a year earlier.

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Year-to-date imports from Russia totaled 48.45 million tonnes, up 4.4% year-on-year, still lagging behind Saudi Arabia, which supplied 49.84 million tonnes, down 1% from a year earlier.

China’s July crude oil imports fell 9.5% from a year earlier, with daily average imports the second-lowest in four years, as refiners drew down inventories and domestic fuel demand recovered more slowly than expected.

Strong Russian purchases crowded out competing supplies from Angola and Brazil, which fell 27% and 58% year-on-year, respectively. Customs reported no imports from Venezuela or Iran last month. State oil companies have avoided buying since late 2019 for fear of violating secondary U.S. sanctions.

Imports from Malaysia, which is often used as a transshipment point for Iranian and Venezuelan oil in the past two years, rose 183% year-on-year to 3.34 million tonnes, up from 2.65 million tonnes in June.

Meanwhile, another set of data showed China’s July coal imports from Russia rose 14% from a year earlier to the highest level in at least five years, as China bought coal at a discount and Western countries shunned Russia for invading Ukraine goods.

China imported 7.42 million tonnes of coal from Russia last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Saturday. This is the highest monthly figure since comparable statistics began in 2017, up from 6.12 million tonnes in June and 6.49 million tonnes in July 2021.

The West had been shunning shipments from Russia before the European Union’s ban on Russian coal took effect on Aug. 11, aimed at reducing the Kremlin’s energy revenue during the February invasion. The ban forced Russia to target buyers such as China and sell at deep discounts.

Russian thermal coal with a calorific value of 5,500 kilocalories (kcal) was trading at around $150 per tonne on a cost-plus-freight basis in late July, while coal of the same quality in the Australian port of Newcastle was assessed at more than $150 per ton in late July. $210 per ton. Based on Free On Board (FOB).

Some Chinese traders expect more Russian coal to flow into China in the fourth quarter as northern Chinese utilities build up inventories for the winter heating season. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)