Apr. 14, 2008 (China Knowledge) - China's crude oil imports surged 25% to a record high of 17.3 million tons in March, according to statistics from China Customs.

During the first three months of the year, crude oil imports rose by 15% while the import value soared by 91% due to the rising price of crude oil in the global market.

Imports of oil products hit 9.08 million tons, up 14% year on year, while exports experienced a fall of 5.6% to reach 3.61 million tons.

Analysts ascribed the surge happened to the heavy purchase of state-owned Sinopec Corp and China  National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), which are required to run at full capacity to ease the domestic fuel shortfall. Meanwhile, independent refineries reduced output to avoid refining losses amid surging crude costs.

However, such a surge will not last as refining is still losing money, according to industry insiders.