Asia's Oil Imports Drop 3%

Asia's crude oil imports are off to a weak start in 2025, as top importer China continues to buy less and new sanctions put the brakes on cargoes from the continent's top supplier Russia.

Asia's imports for the first two months of the year are on track to be 26.17 million barrels per day (bpd), down 780,000 bpd from the 26.96 million bpd for the same period last year, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.

The drop of about 3% in crude imports by Asia in the first two months of this year from the same period in 2024 brings into question the forecasts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other analysts for solid demand growth this year.

The weakness in Asia's crude imports in the January-February period was driven by China, with the world's top oil importer seeing arrivals of 10.42 million bpd, down 840,000 bpd from the 11.26 million bpd for the first two months of 2024.

The first two months of 2025 has seen the weakness in China's crude imports accelerate from the pace of decline recorded in 2024.

China's oil imports were 11.04 million bpd in 2024, according to official customs