China is likely to have increased its crude oil imports this month, with the daily average at 7.8 million barrels, according to calculations by Kpler, as cited by Bloomberg. Refiners have been buying more Russian crude and have seen more tankers arrive from the Middle East, the report noted.
The figure could add fuel to oil’s rally, as the July average would be a solid increase from the 6.2 million barrels daily that Chinese refiners imported in June. That was the lowest import rate for China in over ten years, Bloomberg noted, pointing to the last time China imported crude at a rate of 6.2 million barrels daily was in November 2015.
Oil prices this week retreated from last week’s highs on reports that the United States and Iran had paused their mutual attacks, sparking hopes for peace, yet again.
The United States has been bombing Iran for 13 nights straight, which has so far led to the renewed freezing of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and an expansion of the hostilities to the Red Sea, where the Iran-linked Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and promptly proceeded to strike two tankers, which sent other tankers U-turning and Brent crude to over $100 per barrel.
Per the latest coverage, the U.S. stopped bombing Iran on Friday, and no attacks were recorded over the weekend, Reuters reported. In response, Iran had also suspended its attacks on infrastructure in Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases. The publication quoted an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying that as long as the U.S. did not renew its attacks, neither would Iran. Yet hope for peace in Tehran appears to be in short supply.
“There is more scepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception,” the unnamed official told Reuters.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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