China’s oil imports fell to the lowest level in almost four years in April as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off supplies to the world’s largest oil importer, Reuters reports.

China imports roughly half of its crude oil from the Middle East, where the closure of the strait has slashed the number of tankers carrying oil and refined products to the world.

Crude oil imports fell 20pc in April to 38.5 million metric tons compared to a year earlier, hitting their lowest level since July 2022, according to customs data released today.

Saturday’s data from China does not distinguish between oil arriving by sea and oil coming in via pipeline. Data from ship-tracking firm Kpler, however, puts seaborne crude imports at 8.03m barrels per day, also the lowest since July 2022.

The disruption in the Middle East has led China to tightly manage exports of refined products such as gasoline or jet fuel to protect its domestic market. That policy drove refined oil product exports for April down to their lowest in roughly a decade at 3.1m tonnes, down by about a third since March.