China's commercial crude inventories fell for a third consecutive month in November, as refiners tapped stockpiles to feed plants operating at capacity to fend off a domestic diesel shortage.
Data from a newsletter run by the official Xinhua News Agency showed that commercial crude stocks at the end of November fell 3.2% from a month earlier.
It suggested non-commercial stocks of crude grew by 512,000 barrels per day last month, according to Reuters calculations based on official data and commercial stocks figures published by the China OGP today.
The stockbuild, calculated by the sum of oil supply and subtracting the volume refined and any change in commercial stocks, exactly offset the 512,000 bpd fall in non-commercial stocks in October.
On a daily basis, China processed a record volume of oil last month. It also slashed diesel exports and boosted imports as demand for the transport fuel jumped as factories and businesses fired up standalone diesel-fired power generators to make up for falls in normal power supplies.
China's implied oil demand, which excludes inventory changes, rose almost 14% from a year earlier in November to the highest ever level of 9.34 million bpd, Reuters calculation has showed.
The China OGP data also showed commercial oil products stockpiles increased 5% last month from a month earlier, largely in line with an earlier Reuters report that indicated fuel stocks clawed back for the first time in nine months.
China raised gasoline and diesel prices by about 4% and jet kerosene by about 5% from yesterday, the third increase this year, a move analysts said could help ease diesel shortages and shore up refiner profit margins.
