China’s May figures a mixed bag

China’s crude oil production and processing numbers in May were an interesting mix of good and bad, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said. Crude oil production went down 1.1% year-on-year in May, but crude oil processing throughput was up 10.7%. In particular, gasoline and diesel oil production separately rose by 30.1% and 9.7%. Crude oil output slipped 0.9% year-on-year to 77.78 million tons, and imports fell 2.4% to 74.16 million tons, compared with the 1.7% and 12.7% rise a year earlier, respectively. The country processed 143.25 million tons of crude oil, inching up 0.9%. Gasoline output rose 15%, but diesel fuel declined 1.5%. (June 29, 2009)