China's fuel oil imports, bunker exports climb in June

China's fuel oil imports recovered in June after a slump in May, while bunker fuel oil exports also climbed from the previous month, customs data showed on Sunday.

Fuel oil imports in June totalled approximately 1.4 million tonnes, or about 295,708 barrels per day (bpd), up seven per cent from May and but were down six per cent from the same month a year earlier.

Import volumes rebounded after China's Shandong provincial government raised fuel oil import tax rebates for some independent refineries. Demand for refinery feedstock had tapered off earlier in the year after China raised import tariffs and reduced tax rebates on fuel oil shipments. Total imports from January to June slid 19.8 per cent year-on-year to 9.75 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, exports of low-sulphur marine fuels totalled 2.32 million tonnes, up 88 per cent from May and climbing 46 per cent compared to the same month last year.

(Reporting by Amy Lv in Beijing and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Christopher Cushing)