March crude oil imports slip 6.23 from previous year
First quarter natural gas imports at highest level on record Reuters records
March refined fuel product exports up 9.4 on previous year

BEIJING, April 12 Reuters China39;s crude oil imports in March fell from high levels a year earlier but remained strong amid a surge in Russian shipments, official data showed on Friday.

Crude imports in March totalled 49.05 million metric tons, or about 11.55 million barrels per day bpd, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

That represented a 6.23 decrease from the relatively high 12.3 million bpd imported in March 2023, when fuel demand surged in the wake of China39;s exit from harsh COVID19 restrictions.

Total crude imports for the first quarter stood at 137.4 million tons, a 0.7 increase from last year39;s first quarter figure of 136.3 million tons.

Seaborne imports of Russian crude were expected to reach a record high of 1.816 million bpd in March, according to data from consultancy Kpler, as both stateowned and private refiners snapped up seven tankers of sanctioned Sokol fuel over the course of the month.

March39;s extremely high Russian imports are likely a one off on the back of unusually high Far East Sokol arrivals, and the momentum is very likely coming to an end as Russia is cutting crude exports, said Emma Li, an analyst at Vortexa in Singapore.

Chinese refiners will need to push some CPP clean petroleum product barrels into exports… when…