HANOI (Bloomberg): China has given state-owned refiners the green light to export 500,000 tons of fuels to a handful of regular customers, signaling the country is effectively easing an earlier ban on shipments.
The one-off quota would allow gasoline, diesel, and jet-fuel cargoes to leave China next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, providing relief to Asia’s emerging economies as the war in the Persian Gulf continues to cut off supply. They asked not to be named as the discussions are not public.
The shipments, which would likely head to Vietnam, Laos, and other nations, have already been loaded, they added.
With the Iran war stretching into a third month, vital supplies of crude, fuels, food, and fertilizer remain stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz. China - the world’s largest oil importer and a consumer of Middle East crude - has been quick to react, implementing fuel export curbs in order to shield local customers.
Domestic stockpiles of fuels such as gasoline and diesel have since climbed to seasonal highs.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that state oil firms had begun applying for government permits to resume fuel exports.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which oversees the allocation, did not respond to requests for comment.
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