Diesel exports nearly quadrupled from last year to 600,000 metric tons, and gasoline exports rose 67 percent to 1.36 million metric tons.
Domestic diesel demand was affected by continued weakness in China’s real estate market as well as a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.
Domestic gasoline demand was expected to decline in May as road travel returned to normal after the end of the national holiday at the beginning of the month.
Analysts said that with the end of the holiday and the decline in retail sales after that, it was assumed that the demand for gasoline and diesel will decline and exports will recover.
The boost in demand from the aviation sector also led to an increase in kerosene exports, which reached 950,000 metric tons, compared to 810,000 metric tons in the previous year.
Previous data showed that total exports of refined fuel, which also includes fuel for warships, rose 49.8 percent from a year ago to 4.88 million metric tons in May.
Today’s data also revealed that China imported 6.41 million metric tons of LNG in May, up 31.5 percent from a year ago, as sharp declines in spot prices encouraged buying.
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