China Poised to Cut October Fuel Exports as Inventories Plunge to Multi-Year Lows

China is preparing to reduce refined fuel exports in October 2026 to protect domestic energy security as gasoline and diesel inventories sink to multi-year lows. Stockpiles have depleted following strong seasonal demand and an export surge, with August petroleum product shipments up 12.7% year-on-year to 6.01 million tons. Inventories reached historic lows, with gasoline at its lowest since 2011 and diesel since 2015, although another estimate cites seven-year lows. Amid squeezed margins, Energy Aspects lowered China's fourth-quarter crude import forecast to 9.2 million barrels per day, while Rystad Energy cut refinery throughput projections by 880,000 bpd to 13.9 million bpd.