Iranian oil piles up at sea as China's independent refiners turn to regional rivals

According to Reuters, the volume of Iranian oil sitting at sea has risen after Tehran boosted exports during the interim ceasefire, but sales have slowed as China's independent teapot refiners shifted to cheaper crude from Iraq, the UAE and Qatar. China's imports of Iranian oil fell this month to about 556,000 barrels per day, the lowest since January 2023. Vortexa estimates roughly 30 million barrels of Iranian oil were loaded between 15 June and 6 July, equivalent to about 1.35 million barrels per day. Non-Iranian cargoes were offered at discounts of 5 to 8 dollars a barrel to Brent for August and September delivery, while Iranian Light's discount held around 2 to 3 dollars. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed again this week amid the exchange of US-Iran strikes.