MNI BRIEF: China Oil Imports Up 0.3% During First Five Months

China imported 46.6 million metric tonnes of crude oil in May, down from 48.0 mmt in April, as total inbound shipments increased 0.3% y/y during the first five months of the year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.

Inbound shipments of copper ore and its concentrates reached 2.39 million tonnes last month, down from 2.92 million tonnes in April, bringing total import growth over January to May to 7.4% y/y.

Coal imports from January to May increased 7.9% y/y, slower than the 14.4% growth for the total of 2024.

China’s copper demand is expected to strengthen from last year’s 3.2% y/y growth as greater activity in new industries, such as electric vehicles (EV), more than offsets persistent declines in the property market and traditional sectors, local analysts recently told MNI. (See: MNI: China Copper Demand To Accelerate In 2025)