Asia Fuel Imports Hit New Low as Crude Prices & Exports Decline

A significant drop has been noticed in Asian imports in April month due to the weaker shipments of refined products from the key exporters. The top fuel exporter of the region India had recorded 42.66 million in March, has shown a significant drop to 29.2 million barrels in April lowest in the past 30 months.

China’s refining capacity recorded a drop of 17.4 million barrels in April, compared to 21.5 million barrels in March. This is the lowest exported number since December, considering that China has the largest refining capacity in Asia.

Irrespective of Singapore being the main trading hub for crude and products with a refining center in the whole of Asia, the country has recorded a seven-month low rate in the export of 25.1 million barrels in April.

In the first four months of 2025, Asia’s import of light and middle distillates was recorded at 746.73 million barrels. This slump is noticed when there is pressure on the profit margins of refiners, leading to increased competition in the market. But this hasn’t been the case in the latest scenario. The Singapore processing Dubai crude ends at USD 6.60 a barrel, not much below the recent 15-month high of USD 7.25 hit on May 5.

The major reason for the import drop is the dropping price of the crude oil recorded this year. January 15 recorded a peak in the price of crude oil of USD 82.63 a barrel. But by Wednesday the price had dropped to 66.09 dollars. This may be further affected by the trade war between the US and China.