China’s exports of refined products, which include diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel, dropped 17.7% year-on-year to 4.41 million tons in May.

The lower outflows came as maintenance at both state-owned and independent refiners picked up and domestic refinery utilization rates fell to low levels.

Diesel exports saw a sharp year-on-year drop compared with April, falling 52.1% to 520,000 tons. For the first five months of the year, diesel exports were down 44.5%.

Gasoline exports were 690,000 tons in May, down 20.3% year-on-year. In the January-May period, gasoline exports fell 22.1% to 3.11 million tons.

China’s export of aviation fuel rose 20.1% year-on-year to 1.92 million tons in May, a 14-month high.

In the first five months of the year, China’s aviation fuel exports were up 2.5% from a year earlier to 8.19 million tons.

The data also showed that imports of liquefied natural gas fell 25.6% year-on-year to 4.84 million tons in May.
Source: Reuters