China's Nov crude imports rise to 2nd highest on record
BEIJING (Reuters) — China’s natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar, customs data showed on Friday.
Crude oil imports rose to 37.04 MMt in November, or 9.01 MMbpd, up from 7.3 MMbpd the previous month, and the second-highest level in history.
The data comes after the government recently released an additional 1.5 MMt in 2017 import quotas to three independent refineries.
Stronger imports have been supported by firm refining margins after China raised domestic fuel prices twice in November.
Year-to-date crude imports rose 12% to 385.98 MMt or 8.44 MMbpd.
Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger
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