OREANDA-NEWS. April 22, 2013. China imported 23.05 million metric tons of crude oil in March, equivalent to 5.45 million barrels a day, preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Imports were 2.1% lower than the 23.55 million tons of crude shipped in during the corresponding month last year and up around 10.9% from 20.78 million tons in February, according to Dow Jones Newswires' calculation.

Refined oil product imports totaled 3.13 million tons, while exports totaled 2.65 million tons, the data showed. China exported 270,000 tons of crude oil in March, according to the preliminary data.