The pace of growth in China’s crude imports may slow in H2 as a cocktail of lower runs at independent refiners, potential delays in the start up of some refineries and higher inventories curb the appetite for cargoes by Asia’s largest oil consumer. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The first signs of feeble interest in cargoes were visible in the June data, which showed imports falling 4.9% to a six-month low of 4.35 million mt, or 8.39 million b/d, marking the first year-on-year drop in 2018, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. “We think crude imports in H2 2018 will likely ease to an average of 9.01 million b/d, from 9.08 million b/d seen in H1 2018,” S&P Global Platts Analytics’ senior analyst Zhuwei Wang said. Wang attributed the expected slowdown in crude oil import growth in H2 […]