Nov crude oil imports up 14.3 yoy, first yearly increase since April
Refiners took more cargoes due to lower prices, stockpiling target
JanNov crude oil imports down 1.9 yoy

SINGAPORE, Dec 10 Reuters China39;s crude oil imports jumped in November from a year earlier for the first annual growth in seven months, data showed on Tuesday, driven by lower prices of Middle East supplies and additions to the national stockpile.

The world39;s top crude oil buyer took in 48.52 million metric tons last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, up 14.3 from 42.45 million tons a year earlier and equivalent to about 11.81 million barrels per day.

Daily average imports were the highest since August 2023 and up from a low base in November 2023 of 10.33 million bpd.

Despite the rebound, yeartodate imports were 1.9 lower, potentially pointing to a decline for the whole of 2024. A decline from 2023 would mark the third annual fall in the past five years after pandemictriggered drops in 2021 and 2022.

Refiners in November bought more oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq following sharp cuts in the official selling prices, offsetting some of the decline in imports of Iranian oil because of reduced loadings in October.

Loadings at export terminals, including Iran39;s Kharg Island hub, had dropped significantly in October from September, with ship owners concerned about possible Israeli attacks on Iranian oil facilities, according to tanker trackers Kpler and Vortexa….