Oil product inventories of sales branches under PetroChina and Sinopec totaled 3.84-mil mt in 9 major grain-producing areas as of Jun 30, sharply up 24.3% from a year earlier, according to latest data released by the National Development & Reform Commission.
Gasoil inventories hit 2.2-mil mt, swelling 31.6% year-on-year, the data showed.
The inventories especially those for gasoil were rising amid weak demand as summer harvesting season came to the end, market sources denoted. In addition, the cut in oil product import tariff dampened buying demand of private traders and petrol stations, according to the sources.
The inventories are forecast to increase further in July if domestic demand showed no upturn amid soft international crude prices.
The nine major grain-producing areas include Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi.
