Dying diesel sales say China slowing

The drop in imports of diesel, Asia's most widely consumed fuel, is the latest example of slowing industrial activity in China feeding through to demand for resources. Consumption of iron ore, steel and copper have all fallen in recent months.

The main output of Chinese refineries is typically diesel, but China normally starts buying at this time of the year on the spot market to meet peak demand from agriculture and for power generation. This year China is still exporting.

Usually around this time, they will at least be making enquiries to buy diesel and start snapping up volumes, but I'm not seeing that happen now, said a source at a refiner that normally supplies China, who asked not to be identified.

The fact that they're still exporting, even though in small volumes, shows that demand is not quite there.

China's top refiner Sinopec Corp is exporting about 60,000 tonnes of diesel a month, two A sia-based traders said, after it made its first significant export in six months in June.

This is in sharp contrast to last year when Chinese refiners started making enquiries around this time and imported more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel for November and December, one of the biggest purchases of the year for

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