BEIJING, April 18 (Reuters) - China's outbound shipments of refined oil products in March slid by 11.5% from the same period last year, customs data showed on Saturday, curbed by a Chinese export ban.
The refined oil exports, which include diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel, totalled 4.6 million metric tons last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Beijing ordered the ban on refined fuel exports last month, halting cargoes that had not cleared customs by March 11.
The ban, which does not include jet fuel for aviation bunkering, is poised to extend into April, though exemptions could be applied to small volumes bound for countries in the region that have requested help.
Diesel exports rose 1.5% year on year to 760,000 tons in March. Gasoline exports tumbled by 67.9% to 300,000 tons, while aviation fuel exports slipped 11.2% to 1.52 million tons.
In the first quarter of 2026, China exported 12.74 million tons of refined oil, up 2.6% year on year.
The data also showed LNG imports fell 19.2% year on year to 3.95 million tons in March. For the quarter, they were down 6.4% from the same period last year.
|
Exports |
March (metric ton) |
y/y % change |
YTD (metric ton) |
y/y % change |
|
Gasoline |
300,000 |
-67.9 |
1,150,000 |
-29.9 |
|
Jet fuel |
1,520,000 |
-11.2 |
4,890,000 |
11.5 |
|
Diesel |
760,000 |
1.5 |
1,710,000 |
17.5 |
|
Imports |
||||
|
LNG |
3,950,000 |
-19.2 |
14,420,000 |
-6.4 |
Reporting by Sam Li, Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson
Source: Reuters