China Crude Imports at Minimal

China continued to import crude oil from the US, Iran and Venezuela in September, but Asia's biggest energy consumer kept shipments from the three producers minimal due to the tariff and sanctions barriers blocking easier access to those supplies, latest data from the General Administration of Customs showed Friday.
China received 517,982 tons (126,560 barrels per day) of crude oil from US in September, down 50.2% from the same period a year earlier, S&P Global Platts reported.
Beijing has announced a 5% levy on US crude from September 1 as part of a round of countermeasures to impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of US goods.
However, the flow continued as the drop in benchmark crude prices could help absorb the impact of the tariff and the arbitrage window for US crude to China is still possible, while an oversupplied market leaves traders with alternative barrels to tap into, traders said.
Shipments from Iran stood at 538,878 tons, the lowest level since January 2007, when Platts started to collect China's crude import data.
Imports from Venezuela fell to a nine-year low of 588,698 tons (143,838 bpd) last month and the flow is expected to fall further in the fourth quarter.
Direct imports of Venezuelan crudes, almost all heavy sour, would officially come to an end from October, a company source with close knowledge of the matter previously told S&P Global Platts. 
The combined shipments from the US, Iran and Venezuela consisted just 4% of China's total imports for the month, as Chinese traders adopted a cautious stance when making spot cargo purchases from the three producers.