Pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) following problems in China will continue to drag on the crude oil issue in the new month, as the world's largest oil importing country recorded a sixth consecutive drop in imports in October.
Customs data last week showed imports of 44.7 million tonnes in October, equivalent to 10.53 million barrels per day, down from 11.07 million in September and 11.53 million in October last year.
Throughout 2024, China's imports will be 10.94 million barrels per day, down 3.7% on a daily basis from 11.36 million barrels per day in the same period in 2023.
A decline of 420,000 per barrel per day in Chinese imports is a very disappointing figure for OPEC+.
In OPEC's latest monthly report, the group cut its forecast for Chinese oil demand growth to 580,000 per barrel per day down from a peak expectation of 760,000 per barrel per day in the July report.
But those lower forecasts don't seem to match the reality of China's stumbling imports.
Meanwhile, China's domestic production has grown slightly compared to 2024 and the country has not disclosed inventory levels.
China has built up reserves as the volume of crude refined is less than the amount available from imports and local production.
However, OPEC+ is expected to increase production in December as part of a plan to gradually cut by a total of 2.2 million barrels per day through 2025.
