Apparent demand data was released by Platts on Wednesday morning and is calculated by the research firm on the basis of crude throughput volumes at the domestic refineries and net oil product imports, as reported by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Chinese customs. Platts also takes into account undeclared revisions in NBS historical data.
China’s refinery throughput in June averaged 10.59 million barrels a day, according to Platts, up 1.9% year over year. Net imports rose more than 58% to 659,000 barrels a day, driven by strong inflows of fuel oil and naphtha. Demand growth for gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) slowed in June, while gasoil and jet fuel demand contracted. A Platts spokesperson said:
Gasoline and jet fuel, which have been seen as key drivers of oil demand growth in China, witnessed a slowdown in the month [of June].
Gasoil, which is essentially diesel fuel that can be further refined into a variety of products or burned to generate electricity, is the most widely consumed oil product in China. Platts noted that up to 70% of gasoil is consumed in the transport sector, with the remainder used in construction, farming and fishing, and industrial heating, and to power machinery. Apparent demand for gasoil rose 4.2% in the first six months of 2015.
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China’s apparent demand for gasoline rose 6.5% year over year to 2.74 million barrels a day and rose 9.4% in the first six months of this year.
Net crude oil imports rose to 7.2 million barrels a day in June, up 26.5% compared with June of last year.
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