China Crude Imports at Six-Month Low

China’s crude oil imports fell for a second month in a row in June to the lowest since December, as shrinking margins and volatile oil prices led some independent refiners, known as “teapots”, to scale back purchases. June shipments came in at 34.35 million tons, or 8.36 million barrels per day, according to data from the General Administration of Customs, Reuters reported. That was down 9% from 9.2 million bpd in May and also down from 8.8 million bpd in June last year. Thomson Reuters Oil Research had pegged China’s crude oil arrivals in June at 35.13 million tons. Imports for the first half of this year were still up 5.8% from a year earlier at 225 million tons, or about 9.07 million bpd, the official data showed. While some state-run and independent plants were shut for regular maintenance, others took advantage of weakening margins and oil prices at near four-year-highs to conduct extended shutdowns.