China's crude oil throughput in May plummeted 9.1% year over year to its lowest level in nearly four years, as domestic refineries aggressively cut run rates to mitigate heavy losses driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran, several media outlets reported on Tuesday.
According to the reports citing official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country processed 53.72 million metric tons of crude, equivalent to roughly 12.65 million barrels per day.
The decline reflects mounting economic pressure on the world's second-largest oil consumer, as downstream refiners aggressively scale back run rates to cope with inflated feedstock costs and deep financial losses exacerbated by Iran war, the reports noted.
It further stated that state-owned refiners slashed their operating run rates down to an average of 61.06% in May.
Compounding the slowdown, China's crude oil imports also bottomed out, hitting their lowest level in eight years during May.
To compensate for the deficit without intensifying costly foreign purchases, Beijing is expected to increasingly draw from its record-high domestic crude inventories.
NBS did not immediately respond to a request for comments.