China has released 179.01 million metric tons of crude oil import quotas for 2024, 60 per cent more than the January batch last year as almost all the refiners received their annual allocations, consultancies and trade sources said on Tuesday.
The latest move marks a shift by Beijing, which has been releasing quotas in batches every few months since it opened up crude imports to independent refiners in late 2015. Uncertainty over quotas could hold refiners back from buying more crude when prices are low or ramp up purchases to meet higher demand.
