China exports record diesel volumes in March
BEIJING (Reuters) -- China exported record volumes of diesel in March and boosted sales of gasoline and kerosene as refiners continued to turn to foreign markets to offload their excess product, while liquefied natural gas imports also jumped, customs data showed on Sunday.
Diesel exports jumped 53% to 1.91 MMt, data from the Chinese customs authority showed, outpacing the previous record of 1.78 MM set in December.
Gasoline exports rose 25% in March compared with the same month a year earlier to 840,000 t, but were down 21% from February.
Kerosene shipments abroad were 1.25 MMt, up 21.4% year-on-year and up 23% from February.
The high monthly shipments led to big increases in the first quarter and will reinforce concerns that China, one of the world's top energy markets, is contributing to a fuel overhang as refiners churn out more products like gasoline and diesel than the market can absorb.
China became a net exporter of fuel products in late 2016.
LNG imports totaled 1.99 MMt in the month, up 18% year-on-year but down 19.5% from February and the lowest monthly total since October last year.
That may reflect waning demand as temperatures rise, reducing the need for the fuel for heating.
Reporting by Josephine Mason and Yawen Chen; Editing by Paul Tait
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