China saw crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia rise to a record high last month, following the expiration of a U.S. policy exempting some buyers of Iranian crude from sanctions.
Official statistics from Beijing put delivery volumes at 1.89 million barrels per day in June. This represented nearly 20% of China’s total oil imports in that month and was up by 64% on the May figure.
These data appear to confirm that Riyadh is upholding its pledge to meet the needs of buyers that had been relying on the U.S. waivers. Saudi Arabia has been “filling the supply gap left by Iran,” commented Li Li, an analyst with the commodities research service ICIS-China.