<article><p class="lead">US crude exports averaged 2.69mn b/d in July, falling from a record high in the previous month, according to the latest US monthly trade data.</p><p>The July total was down by about 15pc from 3.16mn b/d in June, according to the latest figures from GTT, which compiles US trade data from the Department of Commerce. </p><p>The July drop in US crude exports comes as Hurricane Barry disrupted some operations in the US Gulf for about a week before making landfall in Louisiana on 14 July. </p><p>South Korea remained the top importer of US crude with about 531,000 b/d. Canada was the second top destination with about 420,000 b/d. The other countries in the top five include China, the Netherlands and the UK.</p><p>China imported about 229,000 b/d of US crude in July, down from 292,000 b/d in June. China has returned to the top five list of US importers after its intake dropped sharply starting in the second half of last year as a trade conflict heated up with the US.</p><p>China took an average of 377,000 b/d of US crude in the first seven months of 2018 and was consistently the first or second top destination for US crude. But Chinese state-controlled trading firm Unipec stopped buying US crude in August 2018. China's imports of US crude dropped to zero between August-October of 2018 and in January of this year.</p><p>Meanwhile, the trade war between the US and China has recently escalated with China imposing a 5pc tariff on US crude starting on 1 September in retaliation against another round of US tariffs. </p><p>The July monthly trade data includes several categories of oil, including crude under 25°API, crude that is 25°API or higher, and condensate derived wholly from natural gas.</p><p>US crude exports reached a record annual high of 2mn b/d in 2018, up by 73pc from 2017.</p><p>The Energy Information Administration separately estimates weekly crude exports. US crude exports averaged 3mn b/d in the week ended 23 August, according to its most recent weekly estimates.</p><p><table class='tbl-excel'><tr><td class='tbl-header' colspan='2'>Top destinations for US crude exports, July 2019</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-left'>Country</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-center tbl-right'>US crude (b/d)</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-rowspace' colspan='2'></td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-subheader'></td><td class='tbl-subheader'></td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>South Korea </td><td class='tbl-right'>531,000</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Canada </td><td class='tbl-right'>420,000</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>China</td><td class='tbl-right'>229,000</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Netherlands</td><td class='tbl-right'>197,000</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>United Kingdom</td><td class='tbl-right'>185,000</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-footer tbl-right tbl-italic' colspan='2'>— GTT</td></tr></table></p></article>
