China oil demand drops 2.1% in November

China's oil demand in November fell 2.1 percent year-on-year to an average 9.9 million barrels a day, according to a report by Platts that was based on China's latest government data.

It is the second time that China's oil demand declined last year, following a 2.3 percent year-on-year drop in September.

According to Song Yenling, senior analyst with energy, metals and steel news provider Platts, "The negative growth in November reflected still-subdued economic activity in China, particularly as industrial production in the country showed slower growth."

"Based on Platts' calculations, gasoline was the only product among China's major fuels that saw an increase in apparent demand in November," Song said.

The report said the dip in oil demand in November was due to relatively lower refining activity.

Crude oil processing by refineries was down 0.6 percent year-on-year to an average 9.81 million barrels a day, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Oil product imports in November totaled 2.82 million metric tons, down 19.4 percent from a year earlier, and exports stood at 2.11 million tons, slipping 1.9 percent from November 2012, the General Administration of Customs reported.

Domestic diesel demand fell for successive three months last year, echoing the nation's economic slowdown.

Diesel output in November dropped 2.5 percent year-on-year to 14.6 million tons, and exports fell 30 percent to 210,000 tons.

For the first 11 months of 2013, China's apparent oil demand averaged 9.81 million barrels a day, a 3 percent increase from a year earlier and higher than the 2.2 percent expansion in apparent oil demand for the same period in 2012 versus 2011, according to Platts.