China's August refined fuel exports exceed pre-Iran war levels, jet fuel exports hit record high - Reuters

China's August refined fuel exports exceed pre-Iran war levels, jet fuel exports hit record high | Reuters

Skip to main content

Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv

* World
Browse World

+ Africa
+ Americas
+ Asia Pacific
+ China
+ Europe
+ India
+ Iran War
+ Israel and Hamas at War
+ Japan
+ Middle East
+ Reuters/Ipsos Polls
+ Ukraine and Russia at War
+ United Kingdom
+ United States
+ U.S. Midterm Elections
+ Reuters NEXT
* Business
Browse Business

+ Aerospace & Defense
+ Autos & Transportation
+ Davos
+ Energy
+ Environment
+ Finance
+ Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
+ Media & Telecom
+ Retail & Consumer
+ Future of Health
+ Future of Money
+ Take Five
+ World at Work
* Markets
Browse Markets

+ On the Money
+ Asian Markets
+ Carbon Markets
+ Commodities
+ Currencies
+ Deals
+ Emerging Markets
+ ETFs
+ European Markets
+ Funds
+ Econ World
+ Global Market Data
+ Rates & Bonds
+ Stocks
+ U.S. Markets
+ Wealth
* Sustainability
Browse Sustainability

+ Boards, Policy & Regulation
+ Climate & Energy
+ Land Use & Biodiversity
+ Society & Equity
+ Sustainable Finance & Reporting
+ The Switch
+ Reuters Impact
+ COP31
* Legal
Browse Legal

+ Government
+ Legal Industry
+ Litigation
+ Transactional
+ US Supreme Court
* Commentary
Browse Commentary

+ Breakingviews
+ ROI: Reuters Open Interest
* Technology
Browse Technology

+ Artificial Intelligence
+ Cybersecurity
+ Space
+ Disrupted
* Investigations
* Sports
+ World Cup
+ Athletics
+ Baseball
+ Basketball
+ Cricket
+ Cycling
+ Formula 1
+ Golf
+ NFL
+ NHL
+ Soccer
+ Tennis
Science
Lifestyle

+ Culture Current
City Memo
Graphics

+ Chart of the Week
Pictures
Wider Image
Podcasts

+ Reuters World News
+ Reuters Morning Bid
+ Reuters Econ World
+ On Assignment
+ Viewsroom
+ The Big View
Live
Fact Check
Video
Media Center

+ Announcements
+ Awards
+ Inside the Newsroom
+ People News
Sponsored Content

+ Reuters Plus
+ Press Releases

My NewsSign InSubscribe

China's August refined fuel exports exceed pre-Iran war levels, jet fuel exports hit record high

By

Reuters

September 18, 2026

12:14 AM EDT

Updated 7 hours ago

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*

!Oil storage tanks in Zhoushan

Oil storage tanks in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Go Nakamura Purchase LicensingRights , opens new tab

BEIJING, Sept 18 (Reuters) - China's exports of refined oil products in August rose 12.7% year-on-year amid the Iran war, with jet fuel exports ​hitting a record high, customs data showed on Friday.

China, ‌a key exporter of refined oil products in Asia, restricted exports of refined products, including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, in mid-March to safeguard domestic supplies ​amid risks to supplies from the Middle East.

The Reuters Power Up newsletter by columnist Ron Bousso provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here.

However, Beijing ​began easing the restrictions in mid-July and is expected to continue ⁠to ease export controls in September, enabling it to profit ​from higher overseas margins.

Exports of refined oil products, which include diesel, ​gasoline, jet fuel and marine fuel, totalled 6.01 million metric tons in August.

However, in the first eight months, the country exported 34.24 million tons of ​refined oil products, down 9.6% year-on-year.

Jet fuel exports rose 41.4% year-on-year ​to 2.55 million tons in August, hitting a monthly record.

In the first eight ‌months, ⁠jet fuel exports were down 14.4% year-on-year at 11.76 million tons.

Diesel exports rose 42.1% year-on-year to 1.33 million tons in August, the highest since March 2024. In the first eight months of ​the year, diesel ​exports were 5.9% ⁠higher at 4.84 million tons.

Gasoline exports stood at 700,000 tons in August, down 17.5% year-on-year but ​the highest since October last year.

From January to August, ​China ⁠exported 2.42 million tons of gasoline, down 57.4% from the same period last year.

The data also showed that LNG imports fell 17.8% year-on-year ⁠to ​5.16 million tons in August.

China's LNG imports ​fell 6.8% year-on-year to 38.86 million tons in the first eight months.

| | | | | |
| --------- | --------- | ------------ | ---------- | ------------ |
| Exports | August | y/y % change | YTD | y/y % change |
| Gasoline | 700,000 | -17.5% | 2,420,000 | -57.4% |
| Jet ​fuel | 2,550,000 | 41.4% | 11,760,000 | -14.4% |
| Diesel | 1,330,000 | 42.1% | 4,840,000 | 5.9% |
| Imports | | | | |
| LNG | 5,160,000 | -17.8% | 38,860,000 | -6.8% |

Reporting by Sam Li and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Jochelle Mendonca

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

* Suggested Topics:
* Asian Markets
* Grid & Infrastructure
* Fuel Oil
* Petrochemicals
* Transport Fuels

*
*
*
*
*

Purchase Licensing Rights

Read Next

* 4 mins agoBusinesscategory
Gold scales one-week high as crude prices ease

* 1 hour agoLegalcategory
Tata's quiet man is staying amid 'all-out war' at Indian conglomerate

* 3 hours ago
China's January-August fiscal revenue up 5.7% year-on-year

* 4 hours ago
Indonesia's new finance minister touts policy continuity, keeps deficit outlook

* 5 hours ago
China's solar equipment exports log fourth straight year-on-year decline in August

* 2 hours agoBusinesscategory
BOJ Governor Ueda's comments at news conference

Business

* Lagarde pushes back on market rate-hike bets after energy costs soar
Businesscategory · September 18, 2026 · 7:36 AM EDT · 31 mins ago
European Central Bank interest rates are not moving in lockstep with oil ​and gas prices, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Friday, pushing back ‌on market bets for aggressive rate hikes on soaring energy costs.

* Legalcategory
Dutch bailiff starts auction of Glencore's former logistics unit Access World, company says
7:27 AM EDT

* Energycategory
Russian ESPO oil price exceeds $120 per barrel, traders say and data shows
7:25 AM EDT

* Energycategory
OMV to go ahead alone with Austrian hydrogen project after Masdar exit
7:21 AM EDT

* Businesscategory
US equity funds post fourth weekly outflow on inflation worries, rate concerns
7:16 AM EDT

Site Index

Latest

* Home
* Authors
* Topic Sitemap
* Archive
* Article Sitemap

Media

* Videos
* Pictures
* Graphics
* Podcasts

Latest

* Home
* Authors
* Topic Sitemap
* Archive
* Article Sitemap

Browse

* World
* Business
* Markets
* Sustainability
* Legal
* Breakingviews
* Technology
* Investigations
* Sports
* Science
* Lifestyle

Media

* Videos
* Pictures
* Graphics
* Podcasts

About Reuters

* About Reuters , opens new tab
* Media Center , opens new tab
* Advertise with Us , opens new tab
* Careers , opens new tab
* Reuters News Agency , opens new tab
* Brand Attribution Guidelines , opens new tab
* Reuters and AI , opens new tab
* Reuters Leadership , opens new tab
* Reuters Fact Check
* Reuters Diversity Report , opens new tab
* Commercial Disclosure (Japan) , opens new tab

Stay Informed

* Download the App (iOS) , opens new tab
* Download the App (Android) , opens new tab
* Newsletters
* Subscribe

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events a