Saudi Arabia’s crude oil supply to China is set to rise to 46 million barrels in October, trade sources said on Thursday, after the world’s top oil exporter slashed prices for Asia, boosting demand.
China’s top refiners Sinopec 600028.SS and PetroChina 601857.SS sought more crude for loading in October while demand from private refiners Rongsheng Petrochemical and Hengli Petrochemical held steady, they said.
The October volume is higher than the 43 million barrels that Chinese refiners are expected to receive in September.
The rise in demand from the world’s top importer comes after state oil company Saudi Aramco cut the October official selling price for flagship Arab light crude to Asia to the lowest in nearly three years.
Saudi Arabia is the No. 2 crude supplier to China after Russia. However, Saudi crude exports to China fell 10.3% to 46.79 million metric tons (1.61 million barrels per day) in the first seven months this year from the same period a year ago, China customs data showed.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Kim Coghill and Eileen Soreng)
