CHINA: OIL DEMAND UP
China's April preliminary oil demand rose 1.7 percent from a year ago as refining throughput rose as independent refiners increased their processing runs and as fuel exports dropped.
China consumed about 10.62 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in April, a record daily consumption volume, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data published on Friday.
The gain in demand, which excludes adjustments of oil stocks, was mainly due to an increase in refinery throughput in part at independent plants.
In April, Chinese refiners processed 10.89 million bpd of crude oil, up 2.4 percent year on year, data from the statistics bureau showed. The figure compared to March's runs at 10.58 million bpd.
Throughput for the January to April period rose 2.9 percent on year to about 10.69 million bpd.
China's refined fuel exports fell to 3.68 million tonnes in April from 3.75 million tonnes in the previous month. A year ago, China was a net importer of refined oil products.
The implied oil demand is the sum of domestic refinery throughput and net imports of refined products. Reuters will publish a more detailed demand calculation later in April, broken down by products and amended for changes in fuel stocks based on data yet to be released.
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