Asia's crude oil imports nudge higher in November

Asia's imports of crude oil ticked up slightly in November, led by a recovery by top importer China, but arrivals are still on track to be weaker this year than in 2023, reports Reuters.

The top crude-buying region is forecast to import 26.42 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, up marginally from October's 26.11 million bpd and 26.24 million bpd in September, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.

The ongoing run of soft monthly imports in Asia is likely to weigh on OPEC+'s deliberations this weekend, with the market expecting that the exporter group will once again delay its planned increases in output.

Despite the small November rise, Asia's crude imports are still likely to fall in 2024, confounding forecasts of increasing demand made by groups such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency.

For the first 11 months of the year, Asia's crude imports were 26.52 million bpd, down 370,000 bpd from the 26.89 million bpd tracked by LSEG for the same period in 2023.

The decline in imports stands in contrast to OPEC's most recent forecast for Asia's oil demand to expand by 1.04 million bpd in 2024 from the previous year.