BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China’s daily crude oil throughput in March sank to a 15-month low with state refiners maintaining deep output cuts as the coronavirus pandemic erodes demand, but there are some signs of recovery as the country begins to ease virus-related curbs.
FILE PHOTO: A crude oil tanker is seen at Qingdao Port, Shandong province, China, April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
The steep drop in runs at the world’s top energy consumer highlights not only the woes of the global oil sector but also that of the broader economy amid the health crisis that has upended lives, hobbled supply chains and roiled markets.
China’s GDP shrank 6.8% in January-March from a year ago, the first such decline since at least 1992 when quarterly records began, as the virus crippled the economy.
Crude runs over the period came in at 149.28 million tonnes, or about 11.98 million barrels per day (bpd), down 4.6% from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data shows.
In March, throughput was 50.04 million tonnes, down 6.6% a