Russia and Saudi Arabia sharply cut oil exports to China in July

In July, Chinese oil imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia fell sharply compared to the previous month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, which cites Interfax. Partial volumes of oil were compensated by deliveries from Iraq, Oman, Angola and Kuwait.

Deliveries of Russian oil to China in July decreased by 23.2% compared to the previous month, to 8.07 million tons. The average daily export amounted to 260 thousand tons against 350 thousand tons. China’s spending on Russian oil last month amounted to $4.069 billion against $5.226 billion in June.

At the same time, the average cost of a barrel of oil from the Russian Federation when exporting to China was $69.16 in July and $68.18 in June. Oil imports from Saudi Arabia to China fell by 28.4% to 5.65 million tons. The average daily volume of supplies was 182 thousand tons against 264 thousand tons.

It follows from the data that in July, China as a whole reduced oil imports by 16.1% compared to June, to 43.69 million tons. In average daily terms, the volume of deliveries to China turned out to be the lowest since January 2023 – 1.409 million tons. In the first half of the year China increased its commercial oil reserves, their volume increased by 47.8 million barrels.

According to report International Economic Agency (IEA), in July, Russia increased its oil export revenue to $15.3 billion due to higher oil prices and a reduced discount on Russian grades. At the same time, Russia fulfilled the plan to voluntarily reduce oil production by 500,000 barrels per day.

For China, oil exports, according to the IEA report, over the past month decreased by 200 thousand b/d, for India – by 100 thousand b/d. However, these two countries accounted for almost 80% of all Russian oil exports. Deliveries to Eastern Europe increased by 40,000 bpd to 420,000 bpd, while deliveries to Turkey, on the contrary, decreased by 45,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd.

Lusine Balasyan