BEIJING: China’s crude imports from Iran fell 11.6 percent in April from record shipments a year ago but were still the highest in 11 months, official customs data showed on Friday.
China’s imports last month from Iran were 2.91 million tons, or 707,400 barrels per day (bpd), up 10.8 percent from March on a daily basis and the highest since last May.
Last month, Iran and six world powers signed a framework nuclear agreement that could see sanctions on Tehran eventually lifted if a more permanent pact is finalized by a June deadline.
China’s April imports from Iran were well above from the 2014 average of roughly 550,000 bpd, which was about the same as seen before the United States and the European Union toughened sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program in early 2012.
Imports could head lower in coming months, especially for condensate, which Chinese customs count as crude, after a fire in April at independently run Dragon Aromatics that will force it to halt operations for at least three months, said a trading source with knowledge of the plant.
Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts had put China’s imports from Iran in April at 547,500 bpd. The group also expects volumes from Iran to fall in May to 531,000 bpd.
In the first four months of the year, imports from Iran averaged 587,200 bpd, down 5 percent from the same period last year.
