China has ordered an immediate ban on refined fuel exports in March in a further step to pre-empt a potential domestic fuel shortage caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The ban, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), includes shipments of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, the sources said.
The halt applies to cargoes that had yet to clear customs as of March 11. The restriction on outbound flows goes beyond last week's move by Beijing urging refiners not to agree to new exports and to try to cancel shipments they had already committed to.
Jet fuel for aviation bunkering is not included under the ban, two of the four sources said.
The NDRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China is the world's biggest oil importer and a major fuel exporter.
Chinese oil majors had planned to ramp up fuel exports in February and March to profit from stronger margins amid a seasonal lull in domestic demand during the Lunar New Year holiday period, traders have said.
Traders had previously forecast March fuel exports at 2.2 million to 2.3 million tons for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, excluding volumes for aviation bunkering, up by 300,000 to 400,000 tons from February estimates.
For March so far, however, China has only shipped up to 50,000 metric tons of gasoline (422,500 barrels), 300,000 tons of diesel (2.24 million barrels) and 300,000 tons of seaborne jet fuel (2.36 million barrels), data from ship trackers and trade sources showed.
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