China's September refined fuel exports surge amid Iran war, diesel exports more than triple

By Sam Li and Lewis Jackson

BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China's exports of refined oil products in September surged 39.4% year-on-year, data showed on Sunday, with diesel exports reaching their highest in more than three years amid a tight global market as the Iran war and other conflicts curb output from the Middle East and Russia.

China, a key exporter of refined oil products in Asia, restricted exports of refined products, including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, in mid-March to safeguard domestic supplies amid risks from the Middle East, then eased the curbs in mid-July.

Exports of refined oil products, which include diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and marine fuel, rose 19% in September from the previous month to 7.16 million metric tons, the customs data showed, continuing the strong growth momentum seen in August.

In the first three quarters, the country exported 41.4 million tons of refined oil products, down 3.7% year-on-year.

China's combined exports of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel totalled 4.41 million tons in September, up 56% from last September and exceeding the 2025 monthly average of 3 million tons.

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Jet fuel exports rose 16.7% year-on-year to 1.94 million tons in September. In the first nine months, jet fuel exports totalled 13.7 million tons, down 11% year-on-year.

Diesel exports rose 262.3% year-on-year to 1.85 million tons in September to their highest since February 2023. In the first nine months, diesel exports totalled 6.68 million tons, up 31.6% year-on-year.

Gasoline exports stood at 620,000 tons in September, down 4.1% year-on-year. From January to September, China exported 3.04 million tons of gasoline, down 51.9% year-on-year.

The data also showed that LNG imports fell 1.4% year-on-year to 5.61 million tons in September. China's LNG imports totalled 44.62 million tons in the first nine months.