China exported 577,000 barrels daily of fuel oil last month, which was the most since the start of the year and an 18% increase from June 2025, Reuters reported today, citing official customs data.
At the same time, overall refined products exports declined, as exports of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel remained under government restrictions. The total refined product number stood at 4.36 million tons, which represented an 18.3% decline on the year, the data showed, as cited by China Global South.
As a result of the monthly surge, the total for fuel oil exports from China over the first half of 2026 rose by 7.7% on an annual basis, to a total of 10.87 million metric tons, the publication also said.
China exports fuel oil mostly used for ships, with demand last month benefiting from lower prices, Reuters noted in its report. The demand increase was particularly marked during the second half of the month.
At the same time, China’s imports of fuel oil also ticked higher in June, recovering from a record low in May. The June total in fuel oil imports was 76% higher than the May total, although it was 30% lower than the total for June 2025. Imports of fuel oil over the first six months of the year were 3.6% lower than a year earlier, at 9.39 million tons.
In early March, days after the conflict in the Middle East erupted and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Chinese government moved to ban all fuel exports amid a worsening supply crunch, with the exception of some volumes shipping out to certain countries in Southeast Asia.
At the time, China told energy companies to suspend new fuel export contracts and try to cancel already arranged fuel shipments abroad as global fuel markets tightened amid the Middle Eastern war that effectively froze most traffic through one of the world’s biggest oil and fuel chokepoints.
In April, Beijing began to ease the restrictions as domestic gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel stocks reached comfortable levels.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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