Chinese customs data showed that the country’s imports of fuel oil decreased by 11% in the first half of this year, in light of weak domestic demand amid a slow economic recovery. China is the second largest economy in the world.

According to the data, China’s total imports of crude oil from Russia, its largest supplier, rose by 5% in the first half of this year, driven by high demand for low-priced crude from refineries.

June imports from Russia saw a 20% decline year-on-year to reach 8.43 million tons, or 2.05 million barrels per day.

This is partly due to weak demand from independent refiners that have reduced operations due to dwindling margins amid weak domestic demand for fuel.

As for other suppliers, crude oil shipments from Saudi Arabia, China’s second-largest supplier, decreased by 14% in June, reaching 6.82 million tons. While shipments from the United States fell by 60% year-on-year to 1.21 million tons, China did not record any imports from Iran or Venezuela last month.