26AUG2019 - NEWS - China’s July crude oil imports from Malaysia near record – customs

China’s crude oil imports from Malaysia stood near record levels in July, customs data showed, with traders and a tanker-tracking analyst citing oil either transshipped from Venezuela or blended with Venezuelan crude for the unusual growth.

Crude imports from Malaysia rose to 1.35 million tonnes last month, more than double from a year earlier, data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday.

That was just below the previous record set in May of 1.38 million tonnes, triple the average monthly volume in the first four months of 2019.

Imports for the first seven months of 2019 totalled 5.64 million tonnes, versus 5.17 million tonnes a year earlier.