Data: China crude import climbed more than 4% in Jan-Feb 2021

For the first two months of 2021, China’s crude import increased 4.1% compared to the same period last year to 89.57 million tons or 11.08 million barrels per day, supported by healthy fuel demand in the local ground and new refineries started up.

The figure showed a 9.5% growth from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. 

A report from Bloomberg showed that gasoline and diesel demand in China has been growing above the pre-pandemic levels since the beginning of 2021. Diesel consumption increased 10% while motor fuel used jumped 3.2% compared to last year. 

In a survey carried out by OilChem and the Development Research Center of the State Council, about 79% of factories and companies managed to restore normal operating rates right after the Lunar New Year holiday, which also boost energy consumption.