Chinese crude imports up 8.8% in the first half of 2019
Chinese total crude oil imports increased by a strong 8.8% year on year to 244.6m tonnes in the first half of the year. Due to the upcoming International Maritime Organization sulphur cap regulations, analysts believe that there will be a marked increase in refinery runs in the second half which is likely to support tanker rates
Saudi Arabia became China’s largest crude oil supplier in the first half of 2019, with 37.8m tonnes, followed by Russia