Chinese imports of Iranian crude rebounded to their highest levels in six months as the US continues its exemption.
The Obama administration has renewed an exemption from Iranian trade sanctions, which allows nine countries, including China, India and Turkey, to continue to import Iranian crude. The exemptions were granted to these countries in return for a reduction of oil imports from the troubled Middle Eastern nation.
After slowing purchases since July last year, Chinese imports of crude from Iran had rebounded to their highest level in six months at the end of 2012. The Asian superpower imported 2.52 million tons of oil Iranian crude in December, a 43% increase on the previous month when purchases fell by 9.3%.
Li Li, an energy analyst with Shanghai-based C1 Energy, expects China to “continue to import limited crude from Iran” in the near future, although will decrease annual imports by 20-30% as suggested by the U.S. and European Union. However, long-term forecasts indicate that China's overall dependence on oil imports is set to increase through to 2030 and beyond.