Saudi Crude Supply to China Remain at Record Low in July Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. June 11, 2026 © Adobe Stock/Dancing Man Saudi Arabia's crude oil sales to China are expected to stay at record lows in July as elevated prices in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continue to weigh on demand from the world's largest crude importer, sources familiar with the matter said. The allocations, closely watched by market participants as a gauge of Chinese demand, indicate that refiners remain reluctant to import high-priced barrels following run cuts and as they draw on domestic inventories. Saudi crude shipments also remain somewhat constrained by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, though Saudi Arabia has rerouted significant flows to its Red Sea Yanbu port for export. Saudi Aramco will ship about 12 million barrels of oil to customers in China for July loading, or about 387,096 barrels per day, they said. The sources requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Sinopec, the world's largest refiner by processing capacity, did not buy any Saudi crude for a second consecutive month, according to the sources. Buying by another major refiner, Rongsheng Petrochemical, was also much lower than pre-war levels. Aramco declined to comment on its July allocation to China, while Sinopec and Rongsheng did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CHINESE REFINERS CUT RUNS The buying decisions came after Aramco cut its July official selling prices to Asia by $6 per barrel from the previous month, though they stayed much higher than pre-war levels. Refiners in China have cut runs as elevated crude costs and weak fuel demand led to refining losses, resulting in decade-low oil imports in May. "Saudi crude remains relatively expensive compared with barrels from other regions, as well as Middle Eastern spot cargoes being sold through ship-to-ship transfers," said Xu Muyu, a senior crude analyst at data and analytics firm Kpler. "For China's ma