China's Crude Imports Set to Hold at 7.2 Million Bpd in September

Preliminary vessel-tracking figures from Kpler, cited by Nikkei Asia and reported by Oilprice.com, put China’s crude arrivals for September at about 7.2 million barrels per day, a level comparable to August. The data suggest import volumes have stabilized after a sharp contraction earlier in the year.

Industry sources say many of the cargoes arriving in September were purchased when crude was trading well below $100 per barrel — in some cases in the $80s — as Chinese refiners moved to replenish inventories. That ongoing restocking, coming after the June trough, is viewed as a factor likely to add upward pressure to global crude prices that have since climbed above $100.

Official customs data show China imported 37.93 million tons of crude in August, equivalent to about 8.93 million bpd, marking a 6.2% increase versus July and continuing a recovery from June’s decade-low of roughly 7.1 million bpd. Despite the rebound, August volumes remained about 23.4% below the same month a year earlier.

Analysts point to several drivers of the rebound: eased export restrictions that supported higher overseas fuel shipments, increased flows from the Middle East, and a shift in buying patterns that included more purchases of Russia’s ESPO grade and cargos from destinations such as Argentina. Beijing’s substantial pre-war crude holdings — around 1.4 billion barrels — allowed it to sharply cut imports in June, with estimates putting that month’s reduction at about 4.4 million bpd versus the 2025 average.