Russia maintained its spot as China’s top crude oil supplier in August, Chinese government data showed on Wednesday, even as discounts on Russian crude continued to narrow and Moscow cut exports.
China’s imports from Russia — including supplies via pipelines and seaborne shipments — jumped 26 per cent from August last year to 10.54 million metric tons, or 2.48 million barrels per day (bpd), the second-highest on the record, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. Russian arrivals over the first eight months of the year were up a quarter from a year earlier to 71.21 million tons.
