Import Data News
- Crude imports rise 8%
Date: 13-Mar-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
THE country's imports of crude oil climbed 8.3 percent in February from a year earlier to 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), data showed yesterday, firm growth for a month when the Lunar New Year often slows shipments.
In the first two months of the year, China took shipment of 25.79 million tons, up 5.7 percent year on year, preliminary figures on the official Customs Web site showed.
The Web site did not provide a comparison for the month alone figure of 12.1 million tons, which was calculated using the 11.17 million tons reported earlier for the same month of 2006.
Much of the country shuts down for the start of the Lunar New Year, and up to two weeks of festivities following when Chinese traditionally return home to spend time with their families.
Importers try to avoid scheduling cargoes to arrive during this period, and in January had pushed shipments up to a near-record 3.22 million bpd as they took advantage of low global prices to build up stocks ahead of the holiday.
Buying for the country's strategic petroleum reserve may also be supporting imports, which last year grew 14.4 percent even though filling only began in the late summer. Industry sources had told reporters in January that tanks at the strategic reserve's first site in Ningbo, in Zhejiang Province, were about two-thirds full.
The Xinhua news agency reported last week that a second storage facility was also 'operating?and filling at a third could start by mid-year.
Imports of refined oil products excluding LPG were down 1.4 percent for the first two months at 5.05 million tons. For February alone they were 2.28 million tons. The Web site did not provide percentage changes for the month-alone data.
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