LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 17 (Reuters) - China made a rare draw on crude oil inventories in July as imports softened and refinery processing remained elevated to meet rising domestic demand and a surge in refined fuel exports.
China doesn't disclose the volumes of crude flowing into or out of strategic and commercial stockpiles, but an estimate can be made by deducting the amount of crude processed from the total of crude available from imports and domestic output.
The volume of crude available to refiners was 14.36 million bpd, consisting of imports of 10.29 million bpd and domestic output of 4.07 million bpd.
Subtracting the refinery throughput from the total crude available leaves a deficit of 510,000 bpd.
Imports dropped 2.38 million bpd in July from June's 12.67 million bpd, and were the lowest monthly total since January.
Persons:
China doesn't, refiners, Brent, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
National Bureau of Statistics, Brent, Refinitiv Oil Research, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
LAUNCESTON, Australia, China, storages, June's, East, Saudi Arabia, Brent, Singapore