China boosts oil imports from Russia, while slashing purchases from Saudi Arabia

Shipments of Russian crude

Shipments of Russian crude oil to China increased more than 30 percent in March compared to a year earlier while Saudi imports of the commodity sank, Reuters reported, citing Chinese customs data.

As crumbling demand for crude and lack of storage space have been wreaking havoc on the oil market, China has been boosting oil exports in a move seen as taking advantage of record low oil prices. Covid-19 has severely cut the demand of one of the top global importers, but in March China purchased 9.68 million barrels per day (bpd), that is 4.5 percent more than it did during the same period in 2019. 

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