China’s Refinery Runs Hit Four-Year Low as Crude Imports Collapse

Chinese refiners reduced their run rates to the lowest in four years as crude imports dropped to an eight-year low, Bloomberg reported today, citing official statistics data.

The average run rate for Chinese refineries in May stood at 66.3%, with total volumes processed over the month down by 9.1% on the year to 53.72 million tons, the data also showed.

The data follows earlier figures released by China’s statistics agency showing that crude oil imports into the country plummeted to the lowest since 2018 in May as a result of the price rise…