Saudi January Crude Oil Supply to China to Rebound vs December

Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply to China is set to rebound to a three-month high in January, trade sources said on Thursday, thanks to price cuts by the world's top exporter amid uncertainty over Iranian supplies.

State oil firm Saudi Aramco will ship about 46 million barrels in January to China, a tally of allocations to Chinese refiners showed, the highest volume since October and up from December's 36.5 million barrels.

China's state majors Sinopec and PetroChina will be lifting more Saudi crude in January, and non-state owned refiners Rongsheng Petrochemical and Shenghong Petrochemical will also increase lifting, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China's demand for Saudi oil rose after Aramco cut its official selling prices (OSPs) to Asia for two straight months.

On Sunday, the producer cut the flagship Arab Light crude OSP to Asia by 80 cents per barrel in January to the lowest in four years.

The increased Saudi shipments followed tighter supplies and higher prices from Iran, which prompted some independent refiners in China to seek more non-Iranian cargoes from the Middle East.