BEIJING: China’s gasoline exports in April fell to the lowest level since July 2015, customs data and Reuters records showed on Saturday, as domestic travel and fuel use increased in the recovering economy.
April exports of gasoline stood at 400,000 million metric tons, down 50.8% from a year earlier, General Administration of Customs data showed on Saturday, and 65% below March’s 1.15 million tons.
A growing tourist preference for short-distance travel is favouring car trips over flights and boosting domestic gasoline demand, according to Shiqing Xia, oils and chemicals consultant at Wood Mackenzie.
China’s gasoline exports will likely remain at a low level in May. Analysts forecast domestic demand will increase 3-6% year-on-year in May based on the increase in travel during China’s Labour Day holiday.
Domestic travel during the five-day holiday increased by 28% compared to 2019, before the pandemic, even as heavy rainfall in south China limited growth in travel in that part of the country, said Jianan Sun, China energy market analyst at Energy Aspects.
Diesel exports were at 760,000 tons in April, down 46% from 1.42 million tons in March on weak export arbitrage and limited quotas.
However, that was up 21.8% from the previous year, customs data showed.
Traders expect diesel exports to ease further in May as state refiners have already used up most of their quotas.
China’s April coal output falls to lowest level since Oct 2022
Sinopec and PetroChina are considering cutting back on refined fuel output in June, traders say, as excess diesel has squeezed refining profits in Asia.
Refining margins in Singapore, the Asia bellwether, slipped under $4 a barrel in April from nearly $6 in March, LSEG data showed, despite several plants shutting for maintenance during low demand season in the second quarter.
Jet fuel exports in April were 1.59 million metric tons, up 90.4% from year-ago levels but down from 1.98 million tons in March, the data showed.
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