ESPO TO INDIA
India has also turned to cheap Russian oil, but has mainly
bought the Urals grade, which loads at Russia's western ports
and then has to travel through the Suez Canal or around the
bottom of Africa to reach India.
However, India bought some 400,000 tonnes of Pacific-loading
ESPO crude in March, which in turn led China to import 1.56
million tonnes of Urals, a record high volume of this grade.
India's crude imports rose to an 11-month high of 21.23
million tonnes, or about 5.02 million bpd, in March, with Russia
supplying 34% of the total, or 7.29 million tonnes, which was a
sixth straight record high.
Overall, China and India continue to drive Asia's crude
imports, but the rising share of Russian oil does raise the
question as to the impact on other suppliers, and whether they
are seeing reduced demand.
There are some areas of concern in Asia's crude imports,
with the region's third-biggest buyer Japan taking just 10.67
million tonnes in March, or about 2.52 million bpd, which was
the lowest since June 2022.
Lower refinery utilisation and a draw on oil inventories
suggest that demand in Japan is soft and refiners are concerned
about high prices.
Looking at other major importers, South Korea's arrivals
surged to a record high of 3.33 million bpd, and Singapore's
imports were also strong.
Taiwan's dipped, but the main point of concern was the rest
of Asia outside the top six importers, where arrivals dropped to
12.87 million tonnes in March, down from 14.36 million in
February.
This suggests weakness in much of Southeast Asia and South
Asia outside of India, and provides a counterpoint to the
bullish China and India narrative.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist
for Reuters.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC-Asia crude oil imports vs Brent price: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Sonali Paul)
(Repeats column published earlier. The opinions expressed here
are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 6 (Reuters) - Asia's
imports of crude oil stayed at relatively robust levels in
March, as strong inflows to the top-importing region's
heavyweights China and India offset weaker demand among some
others buyers.
Total March crude imports were estimated by Refinitiv Oil
Research at 116.73 million tonnes, equivalent to 27.60 million
barrels per day (bpd).
This was up almost 4% from February's 112.32 million tonnes,
but down 6.1% on a daily basis from February's 29.4 million bpd,
and also below January's 29.13 million bpd.
However, the first three months of 2023 were stronger than
every month in 2022, except for November when Asia's crude
imports were 29.10 million bpd.
Despite the lower daily imports in March, it has been a
strong start to the year for Asia's oil imports, with the first
quarter seeing arrivals of 28.67 million bpd, up 6.3% from the
26.96 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The numbers support some of the bullish narrative in oil
markets, which has been centred on a strong rebound in demand
from China as the world's biggest crude importer reopens its
economy after ending its strict zero-COVID policy at the end of
last year.
China's March imports were assessed by Refinitiv at a
four-month high of 49.26 million tonnes, equivalent to 11.65
million bpd, which is almost 1 million bpd above February's
10.66 million bpd.
Saudi Arabia reclaimed its place as China's top supplier
with 8.08 million tonnes, or a share of 16.4%, edging out Russia
at 7.95 million tonnes, or a share of 16.1%.
Russia and Saudi Arabia have vied for the top spot among
China's suppliers since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine led to
Russian oil exporters offering steep discounts to Asian buyers
as their markets in Europe dried up as a result of sanctions.
While Russian volumes into China remain high by pre-war
standards, it's worth noting that Refinitiv data shows India
competing with China for Russian cargoes loading at Pacific
ports.
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