China imported 586,729mt of fuel oil from Russia in June, reaching the highest level since February, data from the Administration of Customs showed.

The figure is 74% more than that in May and 16% less than a year ago, according to the data.

Independent refineries in Shandong Province increased fuel oil imports when international crude prices kept rebounding after falling below US$110/bbl in early May, a market source said.

About 360,000mt of M100 fuel oil in eight cargoes flowed into China market from Russia’s Far East ports in June, according to a major M100 supplier. CFR premiums of these cargoes were US$68-69/mt, flat with the previous month, the supplier said. In addition, around 230,000mt of M100 fuel oil was sourced from the Black Sea, the supplier added.

Russia, Venezuela, Singapore and South Korea were the four biggest fuel oil suppliers for China in June, the GAC data showed.