China’s February Crude Stockpiles Fall 2%; Diesel Rises 28%

China’s commercial crude-oil stockpiles dropped in February compared with a month earlier while diesel supplies surged for a third month as the country replenishes inventories after fuel shortages earlier this year.

Crude supplies climbed 2 percent by the end of last month, according to data from the official Xinhua News agency. Diesel inventories gained 28 percent in the same period, Xinhua said in an e-mail today. Kerosene and gasoline stockpiles both increased by 1.2 percent.

Diesel supplies led gains as China’s refiners boosted processing runs. Inventories climbed to about 11.6 million metric tons for the month, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the Xinhua data. Gasoline supplies rose to 7.04 million tons while kerosene advanced to 1.7 million tons.

Crude-oil supplies increased to about 27.5 million tons, according to the calculations. Xinhua hasn’t provided data on absolute inventory levels since July.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-21/china-s-february-crude-stockpiles-fall-2-diesel-rises-28-1-.html)