China to cut August product exports 7% amid ambiguity over quotas: Platts

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – China's oil companies plan to cut total exports of refined products of jet, gasoline and diesel by 7% to 1.07 million mt in August compared with July figures due to ambiguity around future export quotas, according to S&P Global Platts, who cited unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.

The figure, if true, compares with 1.15 million mt that was earmarked for exports of those three key products in July – which, in itself, is a near 75% fall in the average exports of those products from China in the first six months of the year.

Monthly exports so far this year are 4.38 million mt.

Diesel exports are expected to fall to zero in August, S&P Global Platts said, saying companies are still waiting on fresh news on quotas before committing volumes.

Even without diesel exports, jet and gasoline exports totalling 1.07 million mt in August would be a 50% fall in exports of those two products from the June amount, according to China customs data.

Chinese export quotas granted so far this year are 29.5 million mt.

Customs data shows 26.29 million mt of that has already been exported, including 13 million mt of diesel, 3.72 million mt of jet fuel and 9.57 million mt of gasoline.

Further export quotas are expected to be announced this month in the region of 10 million mt, which would bring the total products exported to almost 40 million mt.

That, however, would still remain sharply lower than the 45.7 million mt China exported in 2020 and the 55 million mt a year earlier, according to customs data.