China Sees Increase in Crude Oil Imports
Despite the disruptions of the past couple of months, China’s crude oil imports have edged higher so far in 2026. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “after a marginal decline in 2024, when global crude oil loadings decreased by -0.2% y-o-y, things picked up in 2025, with full-year volumes increasing by +1.8% y-o-y.
In Jan-Apr 2026, however, global crude oil loadings declined by -3.3% y-o-y to 690.1 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to vessels tracking data from LSEG. Exports from the Arabian Gulf plunged by -23.6% y-o-y to 218.8 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026, and accounted for 31.7% of global seaborne crude trade, down sharply from the historical norm of about 40%, reflecting the ongoing war in the Persian Gulf.
Regional Trade Updates
- Exports from Russian ports (including oil of Kazakh origin) declined by -1.5% y-o-y to 73.8 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026, or 10.7% of global trade.
- From South America, exports surged by +29.1% y-o-y to 89.8 mln t.
- From the USA, exports increased by +8.9% y-o-y to 66.4 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026.
- From West Africa, exports decreased by -8.0% y-o-y to 52.5 mln t.
- From ASEAN exports jumped by +30.9% y-o-y to 42.7 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026 (this inevitably includes transshipped Iranian, Russian cargoes).
Mainland China Leads Global Crude Oil Imports
According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand (measured by arrival at discharge ports), the top seaborne importer of crude oil in Jan-Apr 2026 was Mainland China, accounting for 23.1% of global trade. Volumes into China increased marginally by +1.0% y-o-y to 161.5 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026, from 159.9 mln t in Jan-Apr 2025.
Imports into the EU27 increased by +2.0% y-o-y to 150.6 mln t, accounting for 21.6% of global trade. To ASEAN, imports decreased by -7.9% y-o-y to 85.0 mln t. Imports to India declined by -2.9% y-o-y to 79.0 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026. To South Korea, imports declined by -15.6% y-o-y to 37.0 mln t. To Japan, imports fell by -26.6% y-oy to 28.5 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026. Imports into the USA up by +22.1% y-o-y to 43.3 mln t in Jan-Apr 2026.