China imported 21.04-mil mt of crude in August, up by 8.29% from the previous month, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs.
The country hiked crude imports in the month amid less refinery maintenance, C1 found.
Despite notable month-on-month growth, the imports in August were down by 2.37% from those in May, before peak refinery maintenance started. Compared with a year ago, the imports just gained 0.67%.
China's crude imports in the first eight months of 2011 amounted to 167.91-mil mt, up by 6.37% year on year, the GAC data indicated.
