China's July crude imports rebound from June low on Hormuz window buying

China's crude oil imports in July climbed 22% from the previous month, rebounding from June's near-decade low, according to customs data released on Friday. The recovery was driven by cargoes purchased during a brief partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in June, when Brent prices dipped into the $70s per barrel, making shipments more attractive.

Imports totaled 35.73 million metric tons, equivalent to 8.41 million barrels per day (bpd). That marked a 24.3% year-on-year decline, but a clear improvement over June, when imports hit their lowest level since October 2016 due to weak domestic demand and export restrictions on refined products imposed to safeguard energy security amid the Iran war.

Ye Lin, vice president at Rystad Energy, said the monthly increase reflected opportunistic buying during the brief Hormuz reopening. Arrivals from that buying window are expected to continue through August, which could support an easing of refined-product export curbs and a modest rise in refinery run rates as margins improve.

Independent data from Vortexa estimated seaborne imports at 7.1 million bpd in July, with non-Iranian Middle Eastern shipments rising by about 1 million bpd from June. Refinery activity also improved, with average distillation unit utilisation up 0.82 percentage points month-on-month to 58.81% in July, though still well below the 72% level seen a year earlier, according to Chinese consultancy Oilchem.