<article><p class="lead">US crude exports rose by 24pc in April, rebounding above 3.2mn b/d with the Netherlands as the top buyer and India taking the number two spot. </p><p>Total domestic crude exports averaged 3.24mn b/d in April, up from 2.61mn b/d in March, according to trade data released today by the US Census Bureau. </p><p>The Netherlands was the top buyer with 425,000 b/d, followed by India with about 370,000 b/d. </p><p>Total US crude exports in April were up from 3.08mn b/d a year earlier. </p><p>State-controlled Indian refiners in December expanded their import portfolio to include more US grades. IOC is now including West Texas Light (WTL) as an eligible grade in its weekly import tenders and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) issued a unique tender that sought Mars for its Vizag refinery earlier this year.</p><p>But a Covid-19 outbreak in India is weighing on the oil demand outlook in that country. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India is near 29mn, making it the second most infected country after the US, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.</p><p>South Korea, which had been the top destination for US crude in March, took about 348,000 b/d in April. </p><p>US crude headed to China averaged 202,000 b/d in April, the lowest in a year. </p><p>China's intake of US crude was volatile last year, but exports to that country rose sharply in May-December 2020, averaging 690,000 b/d during that time, buoyed by an interim trade agreement signed last year with the administration of former president Donald Trump. The deal required China to buy $27bn of US crude and other energy commodities in 2020 and $42bn in 2021. Chinese purchases of US crude last year more than tripled from 2019, but they remained well below the dollar targets set in the phase one deal.</p><p>US president Joe Biden's administration is reviewing how China has implemented the interim deal.</p><p>The two countries recently <a href="http://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2219003">resumed discussions</a> on trade issues, but Biden's administration has signaled that it plans to maintain punitive tariffs against the majority of imports from China.</p><p>Overall US crude exports reached a record annual high of 3.2mn b/d in 2020, despite the Covid-19-related plummet in global demand and a string of tropical storms and hurricanes that disrupted shipping in the Gulf of Mexico.</p><p>The monthly trade data comprises 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 class="bylines"><i>By Eunice Bridges </i></p></article>
