Highlights

  • Light Crude Oil Futures closed at 85.24, down 1.61 (-1.85%) on the TradingView chart.
  • China imported 41.94 million metric tons of crude oil in October, equivalent to 9.88 million bpd.
  • China’s daily crude Import rate rose 9.4% from September but declined 13.3% year on year.
  • China’s seaborne crude arrivals increased 12% to around 9.2 million bpd in October.
  • Energy Aspects estimated October refinery throughput at 13.75 million bpd and inventory growth of 6 million barrels.
  • China’s oil product exports fell to 5.18 million tons from 7.16 million tons in September.

Crude oil entered the spotlight as China’s October import recovery contrasted with a retreat in Light Crude Oil Futures. The reported TradingView Daily Chart showed a close at 85.24, down 1.61 (-1.85%), even as the world’s largest oil buyer recorded its highest monthly crude import Volume since March. That contrast puts incoming barrels, refinery activity and product exports at the centre of the market narrative.

Crude Prices Retreat While China Takes More Barrels

Light Crude Oil Futures opened at 86.43 and reached a session high of 86.93 before moving to a low of 84.83, according to the 10 November 2026 TradingView chart. The closing reading of 85.24 placed the contract below its opening level. The price decline came against a Chinese trade picture that improved month on month but remained weaker than a year earlier.

Source: TradingView as of 10 November

October Imports Recover, but Annual Comparison Lags

China brought in 41.94 million metric tons of crude oil in October, or 9.88 million barrels per day (bpd). The daily import rate climbed 9.4% from September but stood 13.3% below the year-earlier level. Across the first 10 months of 2026, imports totalled 399.9 million tons, down 15.1% from a year earlier. The source linked the earlier reduction in arrivals to Supply disruptions from the Middle East during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Seaborne deliveries showed a similar near-term recovery. Kpler recorded an increase of 12% from September to around 9.2 million bpd, the strongest reading since March. Saudi Arabian arrivals also increased, with Kpler and Vortexa estimating October volumes at 1.6 million bpd and 2 million bpd, respectively.

Refinery Runs and Product Exports Shape the Balance

Higher imports did not translate into a comparable rise in processing activity. Energy Aspects estimated refinery throughput at 13.75 million bpd in October, below September, and calculated a 6 million-barrel rise in crude inventories using its supply-and-demand balance. Uncertainty around refined product export policies and product stock levels remained important considerations for refinery operations.

Satellite-based onshore inventory estimates told a different part of the story: Kpler and Vortexa measured October draws of 7 million and 12 million barrels, respectively, compared with September draws of 47 million and 57 million barrels. Those estimates use different approaches from the supply-and-demand balance and should not be treated as identical measures.

China’s gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil exports totalled 5.18 million tons in October, down from 7.16 million tons in September, although 14.6% higher year on year. Exports over the first 10 months reached 46.59 million tons, down 2% from the previous year.

Crude oil futures finished the session lower as China’s imports rebounded from September but remained below year-earlier levels. Refinery throughput, inventory trends and weaker monthly refined-product exports remain central to the oil market narrative.