<article><p class="lead">China's crude imports rebounded to almost 12mn b/d in September, ending two consecutive month-on-month declines as port congestion started to ease.</p><p>Imports were 11.85mn b/d last month, up by 5.6pc from August and 17.6pc higher than imports in September last year, preliminary data published by China's general administration of customs (GAC) show.</p><p>Imports in January-September averaged 11.12mn b/d, up by 12.2pc from the same period last year. </p><p>China's crude imports hit a record high of 12.94mn b/d in June but have fallen back since then because of logistics constraints, after a surge in buying by Chinese refineries to take advantage of low prices created bottlenecks at ports.</p><p>The congestion has eased since September, as a backlog of crude held in floating storage <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2143162">gradually started to clear</a>. Chinese customs authorities have also moved to <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2143668">streamline the crude import process</a>, in changes that could cut clearance times for 2-3 days. </p><p>Four commercial storage tank farms have been added in north China since the third quarter, helping <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2145410">absorb more imports</a>. These include Hongrun's 13.8mn bl storage facility in Weifang, Dekun Energy's 12.6mn bl tank farm in Rizhao, Dongjiakou port's 10.1mn bl of storage in Qingdao and Sinopec's 5mn bl of new capacity in Luoyang.</p></article>
