# China increased October oil imports to the maximum since March, but for 10 months kept falling by 15.1%

> Oil2x story card (EN). Topic: Transport & logistics. Updated: November 10, 2026, 23:01 MSK. Permanent URL: https://oil2x.ru/n/en/e/kitai-v-yanvare-oktyabre-sokratil-import-nefti-na-15-1-a48d8b/ · Russian original: https://oil2x.ru/n/e/kitai-v-yanvare-oktyabre-sokratil-import-nefti-na-15-1-a48d8b/

## TL;DR
- China increased October oil imports to the highest since March, but for 10 months kept falling by 15.1%.
- Confirmation: 6 sources, 8 reports; first: Telegram: Нефть и Капитал, November 10, 2026; latest: Interfax, November 10, 2026.
- China's oil imports in October rose to a maximum since March The world's largest oil buyer imported 41.94 mln tons of oil in October, or 9.88 mln barrels per day, at the time.
- Kazakhstan for ten months reduced oil production by 6.7% Kazakhstan in January-October 2026 produced about 77-78 mln tons of oil.
- China has cut oil imports by 15% in ten months.

## Editor's note

A monthly increase in imports, with a strong drop in the first ten months, indicates a partial recovery in purchases, but the average cost of a barrel of about $111 against $91 in September means an increase in import costs. For the market, this is a signal of the changing dynamics of demand of the largest buyer of oil. There are no explanations for the decline in annual imports or the jump in the price of a barrel.

## What happened

China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1%. Between November 10, 2026 and November 10, 2026, monitored outlets published 8 reports on the event; 6 sources provide cross-confirmation.

Key reports: "Fuel balance of Russia: why gasoline imports are not in a hurry to grow, despite demand In October, Russia increased sea imports of petroleum products by a quarter compared to Russia" (Telegram: Нефть и Капитал, November 10, 2026); "China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1%" (Prime, November 10, 2026); "China cuts oil imports by 15% in ten months" (Взгляд, November 10, 2026).

The reports cite the following figures: 41.94 mln t, 6.7%, 15% and 15.1%. The full list is in the card's figures table and in the machine-readable dataset.

## Q&A

**What is known about "China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1%"?**

China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1%. The event is confirmed by 6 independent sources; reports were published between November 10, 2026 and November 10, 2026.

**When did this become known?**

The first report in monitoring: November 10, 2026 (Telegram: Нефть и Капитал); the latest at the time of review: November 10, 2026 (Interfax).

**Who is reporting this?**

Sources include: Interfax, Telegram: ИнфоТЭК, ИнфоТЭК, Telegram: Oil, Капитал and Взгляд. The full list with dates and links is in the "Sources" section.

**What figures are cited in the reports?**

41.94 mln t, 6.7%, 15% and 15.1%. The source of each figure is listed in the table.

## Key numbers

| Value | Context | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41.94 mln t | China's oil imports in October rose to a maximum since March The world's largest oil buyer imported 41.94 mln tons of oil in October, or 9.88 mln barrels per day, while the world's largest oil buyer imported oil | Telegram: ИнфоТЭК | November 10, 2026 |
| 6.7% | Kazakhstan for ten months reduced oil production by 6.7% Kazakhstan in January-October 2026 produced about 77-78 mln tons of oil. | Telegram: ИнфоТЭК | November 10, 2026 |
| 15% | China cuts oil imports by 15% in ten months | Взгляд | November 10, 2026 |
| 15.1% | China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1% | Prime | November 10, 2026 |
| 13% | INTERFAX.RU - China's oil imports in October increased by 13% compared to September and reached almost 10.21 mln barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China. | Interfax | November 10, 2026 |
| 13.2% | At the same time, the volume of oil imports in October-2026 was 13.2% lower than the level for the same month last year. | Interfax | November 10, 2026 |
| 41.94 mln t | In total, in October, the country imported 41.94 mln tons of oil worth $34.15 bln. | Interfax | November 10, 2026 |
| $111 | Thus, the average cost of one purchased barrel was about $111 against $91 in September. | Interfax | November 10, 2026 |

## Timeline

- **November 10, 2026, 16:35 MSK** — China in October increased oil imports to a semi-annual maximum of 10.2 mln bpd (Interfax) — original: Китай в октябре увеличил импорт нефти до полугодового максимума - 10,2 млн б/с [link](https://www.interfax.ru/business/1128082)
- **November 10, 2026, 12:10 MSK** — China's oil imports in October rose to a maximum since March The world's largest oil buyer imported 41.94 mln tons of oil in October, or 9.88 mln barrels per day, while the world's largest oil buyer imported oil (Telegram: ИнфоТЭК) — original: Нефтяной импорт Китая в октябре вырос до максимума с марта Крупнейший в мире покупатель нефти импортировал 41,94 млн тонн нефти в октябре, или 9,88 млн баррелей в сутки, при… [link](https://t.me/Infotek_Russia/11609)
- **November 10, 2026, 12:05 MSK** — China's oil imports rise to highest since March in October (ИнфоТЭК) — original: Нефтяной импорт Китая в октябре вырос до максимума с марта [link](https://itek.ru/news/neftyanoj-import-kitaya-v-oktyabre-vyros-do-maksimuma-s-marta/)
- **November 10, 2026, 11:45 MSK** — China increased oil imports in October to a record in 7 months In October, China increased crude oil imports to the highest level in seven months. (Telegram: Нефть и Капитал) — original: ​​ Китай нарастил импорт нефти в октябре до рекорда за 7 месяцев В октябре Китай увеличил импорт сырой нефти до самого высокого уровня за последние семь месяцев. [link](https://t.me/oil_capital/26969)
- **November 10, 2026, 10:23 MSK** — Kazakhstan for ten months reduced oil production by 6.7% Kazakhstan in January-October 2026 produced about 77-78 mln tons of oil. (Telegram: ИнфоТЭК) — original: Казахстан за десять месяцев сократил добычу нефти на 6,7% Казахстан в январе — октябре 2026 года добыл порядка 77–78 млн тонн нефти. [link](https://t.me/Infotek_Russia/11608)
- **November 10, 2026, 06:19 MSK** — China cuts oil imports by 15% in ten months (Взгляд) — original: Китай сократил импорт нефти на 15% за десять месяцев [link](https://vz.ru/news/2026/11/10/1474309.html)
- **November 10, 2026, 06:16 MSK** — China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1% (Prime) — original: Китай в январе-октябре сократил импорт нефти на 15,1% [link](https://1prime.ru/20261110/kitaj-875050124.html)
- **November 10, 2026, 03:17 MSK** — Fuel balance of Russia: why gasoline imports are not in a hurry to grow, despite demand In October, Russia increased sea imports of petroleum products by a quarter compared to Russia (Telegram: Нефть и Капитал) — original: ​​ Топливный баланс России: почему импорт бензина не спешит расти, несмотря на спрос В октябре Россия нарастила морской импорт нефтепродуктов на четверть по сравнению с… [link](https://t.me/oil_capital/26953)

## What is unknown

- Details may change: the card is updated as new reports come in.

## What to watch

- New reports on the story from monitored sources (the card updates automatically).
- Official confirmation or revision of the figures cited.
- Market and logistics reaction to the event.

## Sources

1. Interfax, November 10, 2026 — China in October increased oil imports to a semi-annual maximum of 10.2 mln bpd — https://www.interfax.ru/business/1128082
1. Telegram: ИнфоТЭК, November 10, 2026 — China's oil imports in October rose to a maximum since March The world's largest oil buyer imported 41.94 mln tons of oil in October, or 9.88 mln barrels per day, while the world's largest oil buyer imported oil — https://t.me/Infotek_Russia/11609
1. ИнфоТЭК, November 10, 2026 — China's oil imports rise to highest since March in October — https://itek.ru/news/neftyanoj-import-kitaya-v-oktyabre-vyros-do-maksimuma-s-marta/
1. Telegram: Нефть и Капитал, November 10, 2026 — China increased oil imports in October to a record in 7 months In October, China increased crude oil imports to the highest level in seven months. — https://t.me/oil_capital/26969
1. Telegram: ИнфоТЭК, November 10, 2026 — Kazakhstan for ten months reduced oil production by 6.7% Kazakhstan in January-October 2026 produced about 77-78 mln tons of oil. — https://t.me/Infotek_Russia/11608
1. Взгляд, November 10, 2026 — China cuts oil imports by 15% in ten months — https://vz.ru/news/2026/11/10/1474309.html
1. Prime, November 10, 2026 — China in January-October reduced oil imports by 15.1% — https://1prime.ru/20261110/kitaj-875050124.html
1. Telegram: Нефть и Капитал, November 10, 2026 — Fuel balance of Russia: why gasoline imports are not in a hurry to grow, despite demand In October, Russia increased sea imports of petroleum products by a quarter compared to Russia — https://t.me/oil_capital/26953

## Related entities

Russia (Place), China (Place)

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Machine translation of the Russian card (LibreTranslate + oil2x.ru domain glossary). Numbers, dates and source names are checked against the original. Card source: oil2x.ru analytics center, https://oil2x.ru/n/en/e/kitai-v-yanvare-oktyabre-sokratil-import-nefti-na-15-1-a48d8b/. Figures dataset: https://oil2x.ru/n/data.json.