China’s crude oil imports averaged 9.61 million barrels a day last month, customs data cited by Reuters has revealed, with the agency noting the amount is the highest on record. Once again, it was the independent refiners, or teapots, that drove the increase as they seek to fulfill their import quotas before they expire. The total October volume of imports hit 40.80 million tons, of which teapots imported 8.22 million tons. Yet this was lower than the teapots’ intake as forecast by S&P Platts last month, which was 9 million tons. It was, however, substantially higher than the 7.26 million tons independent Chinese refiners imported in September. Last month, Beijing announced it will raise by 42 percent the oil import quota for its non-state refiners—most of which are the independent refiners—for 2019 as new refinery capacity is planned to enter into operation next year. This served to dampen worries […]