China sharply increased oil imports in July – despite a record decline in June

In July 2025, China – the world’s largest oil importer – increased its crude oil purchases by 11.5% compared to the previous year. Although the figure decreased relative to the June peak, the activity of state-owned refineries remained high, supporting demand for raw materials. This is reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.

DetailsChina’s crude oil imports in July 2025 reached 47.2 million tons – equivalent to 11.12 million barrels per day, according to official data from the General Administration of Customs. This is 11.5% more than in July 2024.

Although the figure shows growth year-on-year, compared to June of this year (49.89 million tons), it decreased by 5.4%. Analysts explain this by the fact that independent refiners actively accumulated stocks in June, and accordingly reduced purchases in July.

Independents made large purchases in June, so demand was more restrained in July 

In total, from January to July 2025, China imported 326.57 million tons of oil – an average of 11.25 million barrels per day, which is 2.8% more than in the same period of 2024.

State-owned refining enterprises remained the main driver of demand. According to Oilchem, the utilization rate of refineries in July increased to 71.84%, which is 1.02 percentage points higher than in June and 3.56 percentage points higher than last year. At the same time, independent plants, on the contrary, reduced processing volumes.

In July, production capacities of 79 million tons were taken out for maintenance, but three large refineries with a total capacity of 28.7 million tons returned to operation.

Also in July, China’s exports of refined petroleum products increased by 7.25% – to 5.34 million tons, indicating an intensification of foreign trade in energy carriers.

At the same time, natural gas imports (including pipeline and liquefied) decreased – to 10.63 million tons, which is 2.1% less than in July 2024.

AdditionDespite some slowdown in supply compared to the previous month, China shows steady growth in oil demand, supported by the active work of state-owned refineries. This is a signal for both global oil markets and analysts – demand from Beijing remains one of the key factors shaping global energy dynamics.

RecallOil prices rose by 1% after US inventory drawdowns and increased exports. Macroeconomic uncertainty due to US tariffs on Indian goods limits growth.