10. CHINA'S CRUDE-OIL IMPORT GROWTH SLOWS AS COSTS RISE (UPDATE2)
By Winnie Zhu
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, recorded slower crude-oil imports last month as tax rebates failed to offset higher costs.
Imports climbed by 3 percent to 14.57 million metric tons in June, or 3.55 million barrels a day, the Customs General Administration of China said on its Web site today. This compares with a gain of 25 percent to 16.2 million tons in May.
The state refunded three-quarters of a value-added tax on imported crude between April and June to narrow refiners' losses for selling below-cost fuels in the domestic market as global oil prices hit records. The nation's crude import bill expanded to $12.37 billion in June, the most for any month this year.
``The VAT refund is meant to offset refining losses, and considering its size, the rebates won't help boost crude imports,'' said Qiu Xiaofeng, an analyst with China Merchants Securities Co.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. in April received about 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) in rebates, or 600 to 700 yuan for each ton of crude imported, a company official said on May 27. Oil prices in New York have more than doubled over the past year, rising to an all-time high of $145.85 a barrel on July 3.
``The import slowdown in June was also because of a high statistical base in May,'' said Gong Jinshuang, an analyst with China National Petroleum Corp.
Imports jumped in May as refiners boosted fuel production after China experienced its strongest earthquake in 58 years.
Between January and June, crude imports rose 11 percent to 90.53 million tons, while the cost of shipments increased 86 percent to $64.98 billion.
Crude Exports
Crude exports increased to 1.42 million tons last month from 220,000 tons a year earlier.
``China National Offshore Oil Corp. may have boosted exports as its oil looked expensive next to imported crude after the latest customs tax refund,'' Gong said. ``China National and China Petrochemical Corp. kept export volumes unchanged.''
China National and China Petrochemical are the nation's two largest refiners, while China National Offshore is the country's largest offshore oil producer.
Oil products imports stood at 3.67 million tons in June and gained 16.4 percent to 21.01 million tons in the first six months. Exports fell 0.3 percent to 7.88 million tons in the six months and stood at 1.39 million tons in June.
China was a net coal exporter in the first half, customs figures showed today.
Exports of the fuel, used to generate about 80 percent of the nation's electricity, rose 10 percent to 25.49 million tons between January and June and stood at 6.99 million tons last month. Overseas coal purchases fell 20 percent to 21.55 million tons. There was no data for June in the customs report.