China Refined Oil Export Volume to Remain High in Apr 2018

In March, China’s demand for refined oil recovered slowly, but the refined oil output remained high. The gasoline supply became more surplus, and the operating rates of diesel downstream industries continued to be low. Besides, some exporters needed to arrange resources for export in March, influenced by the Spring Festival holiday. Therefore, the export volume of refined oil obviously increase in March.

With the temperature getting higher, the domestic demand for diesel further improved, and the consumption of diesel accelerated. However, the supply of diesel remained surplus due to the sufficient resources. Meanwhile, the demand for gasoline was moderate, and the inventory pressure increased gradually. On the whole, SCI reckons that China’s refined oil export volume will remain high in April. Given the insufficient refined oil export quotas at some refineries, the overall refined oil export volume in April will decline to some extent from March.