China imported 2.22-mil mt of fuel oil in June, down by 3% from the previous month, according to the data released by the General Administration of Customs.

The drop was mostly because Shandong-based independent refineries showed weaker feedstock demand as the domestic oil product market was bearish in June, C1 learned from industry sources.

Furthermore, some cargoes previously scheduled for June arrivals were postponed until July since import tariffs were lowered as from Jul 1.

Compared with the same month in 2010, the imports declined by 6%, the data indicated.