China resumes fuel exports and approves 3.7 million tonnes for October — OilPrice

China has decided to resume exports of petroleum products after a week-long pause. According to OilPrice, citing unnamed Reuters trade sources, Beijing approved total October exports of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel at 3.7 million metric tonnes.

Week-long pause in exports

The suspension of shipments became known on October 1. At the time, Reuters, citing sources, reported that Chinese state-owned companies were cancelling even already planned fuel export cargoes.

According to a Kpler estimate cited in the report, commercial stocks of diesel fuel and gasoil in China were about 20 million barrels below pre-war levels. Gasoline inventories, according to the data, were about 9 million barrels below the level Beijing seeks to restore before normalizing exports.

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Diesel fuel market

Sparta Commodities senior oil market analyst June Goh told CNA that the suspension of export quotas for petroleum products signaled to the market that China was uncertain about the security of crude oil flows from the Middle East due to possible new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the pause, China had been increasing fuel exports. According to official customs data, petroleum product exports reached 6.01 million tonnes in August, up 12.7% from a year earlier and the highest level since March 2024. OilPrice estimates that if the information about the resumption of shipments is confirmed, it could ease tensions in the diesel fuel market, where prices are at record levels.