Chinese refiners processed lower crude volumes in April due to maintenance, while apparent oil demand in the world’s top importer of the commodity fell for the first time on an annual basis since the end of 2022. Chinese government data showed on Friday that crude processing rates fell by nearly 4% year-over-year to 14.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, due to the start of maintenance season at refineries. Apparent oil demand in China declined by 3% in April compared to the same month last year. This marked the first annual…
