China's commercial crude oil inventories at the end of August 2015 declined 0.12 percent from a month earlier, while its product oil stocks dropped 7.82 percent month-on-month, according to the monthly data product China Petroleum Stockpile Statistics (CPSS) released on Friday.
The commercial crude oil inventory data excludes the stockholdings of the national Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). In a breakdown, the stocks of gasoline, diesel and kerosene sank 9.68 percent, 7.64 percent and 2.56 percent month on month, respectively.
China had 26.37 million tonnes of net crude oil imports in August, much lower than 30.38 million tonnes in July.
Domestic crude oil output in August stood at 18.17 million tonnes, basically in line with that in the previous month. China's refineries processed 44.34 million tonnes of crude oil in August, higher than July's 43.54 million tonnes.
The output of gasoline, diesel and kerosene in August saw month-on-month increase due to higher crude oil throughput. Two consecutive cuts of national benchmark product oil in August bolstered market demand for gasoline. More car travels and high temperature in the summer further drove up demand for gasoline. Approaching harvest season in north China, start of fishing season in coastal areas and recovery of diesel demand for agricultural purpose resulted to substantial drop of diesel stocks.
However, the fall of diesel stocks was less than that in the same period of 2014. Flows of both tourists and returning students in the period swelled demand for jet fuel.
The CPSS statistics, which are released in the middle or latter part of each month through the Xinhua08 platform, serve as a reference indicator mirroring changes in China's commercial petroleum stocks. The Xinhua08 platform is an internet-based financial information and trade service platform developed by Xinhua News Agency.
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