China's crude imports pull away from a decade low in July at 7.8 million barrels a day

According to a Bloomberg report on Monday 27 July 2026, China's crude oil imports are pulling away in July from their lowest level in more than a decade. Preliminary figures from a data analytics firm put seaborne imports this month at an average of about 7.8 million barrels a day, against 6.2 million barrels a day in June, which was the lowest since November 2015 and still significantly below pre-war purchases.

Muyu Xu, a senior crude analyst at the same provider, said the higher July inflows are "largely because cargoes that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf finally arrived in China," adding that whether this marks a bottom in imports will depend on shipping conditions in the coming weeks. Data show shipments from Saudi Arabia have more than doubled in July, flows from the United Arab Emirates have surged more than tenfold, and Russian inflows have climbed by about 10%.

In February, before the broad escalation of the war, China's overall crude imports were about 12.6 million barrels a day according to the country's customs figures, a total that includes pipeline flows of up to 1 million barrels a day. Since the war began in late February, China has cut its crude deliveries by more than 5 million barrels a day and reduced refining, steps the report says have helped prevent a sharper spike in global oil prices.