China's crude oil imports rose for the second consecutive month in August, as refiners turned to additional non-Middle Eastern supply and boosted overseas fuel shipments amid eased export restrictions.

China, the world's largest crude oil importer, brought in 37.93 million tons, or 8.93 million barrels per day (bpd), of crude oil in August, up 6.2% from July and continuing the recovery from the decade-low posted in June, official Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday.

The August import level was still 23.4% lower than in the same month last year, but it marks a significant improvement from the June low of just 7.1 million bpd.

China slashed its total crude oil imports to a decade low in June, capping three months of very low import volumes amid high prices and constrained supply from the Middle East. Having amassed roughly 1.4 billion barrels of crude before the war, Beijing was in a position to sharply reduce its crude purchases, cutting import volumes in June by an estimated 4.4 million bpd compared with the 2025 average. The stockpile gave Chinese refiners flexibility that many other importing nations lack, allowing them to ride out price and supply pressures by drawing down inventories rather than buying at elevated prices.

Chinese imports began to rebound in July, and the trend continued into August, as Middle Eastern flows ticked up, Chinese refiners increased purchases of Russian ESPO grade crude, and buyers turned to previously exotic and rare supply destinations such as Argentina.

China's eased restrictions on fuel exports were another major driver of the higher August crude imports. Beijing typically manages refined product shipments through a system of export quotas allocated to refiners, and loosening those curbs directly affects how much crude refiners need to process. The relaxed export curbs prompted refiners to restock and capture favorable refining margins amid a global fuel supply crunch, particularly in diesel.

Customs export figures showed that refiners have raised both crude imports and fuel exports in recent weeks. Chinese refined oil product exports jumped 29% from July to 6 million tons in August, exceeding the 5.33 million tons exported in August 2025.

"The month-on-month increase in crude imports is in line with the surge in fuel exports in August and continued strong exports in September," Emma Li, an analyst at ship-tracking firm Vortexa, told Reuters. The September export and import figures, due in next month's customs release, will indicate whether the recovery is consolidating or proving temporary.

Source: OilPrice.com. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com.