China's gasoil exports in August hit an almost 17-month low of 70,000 mt, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs late Monday.
The volumes were the lowest since March 2012, when China exported 60,000 mt of gasoil. The exports in August were less than half the 150,000 mt exported in August 2012 and were significantly lower than the 140,000 mt shipped out in July and 120,000 mt in June.
From January to August, China's gasoil exports totaled 1.95 million mt, soaring 121.6% year on year, the data showed.
China did not import any gasoil in August, although total year-to-date imports were 260,000 mt. Net gasoil exports over January-August were therefore 1.69 million mt versus net exports of 150,000 mt over the same period in 2012.
China has traditionally been balanced in gasoil, but started exporting significant amounts since the second half of last year due to weak domestic demand as economic growth slowed down.
Unipec, the trading subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corp. or Sinopec, has been responsible for the bulk of the exports so far. However, traders have said that the company's exports could slow down in the third quarter because it had exhausted the export quota allocated by the government.
Chinaoil, China National Petroleum Corp.'s trading arm, has exported relatively less gasoil this year, largely because its domestic production is lower than Sinopec's.
Trade sources said earlier this month that they expected Unipec's gasoil exports to rebound in the fourth quarter to the same level as in Q1 or even exceed following the renewal of export quotas.
