China instructs major oil refineries to halt fuel exports amid Persian Gulf supply concerns

China has instructed the country’s largest oil refiners to halt exports of diesel and petrol as an escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf disrupts the supply of crude from one of the world’s largest producing regions, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s leading economic planner, met with refinery executives and verbally requested a temporary halt in refined product shipments, which would begin immediately, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.