BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports in September grew nearly 14% from a year earlier, as refiners stepped up purchases ahead of the Golden Week travel period.
Shipments last month to the world's biggest oil importer were 45.74 million metric tons, or 11.13 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The figures for September continue a trend seen through 2023, in which imports significantly exceed 2022 levels, when China's economy was hammered by widespread pandemic restrictions.
Imports, however, eased from August's figure of 12.4 million bpd, which were the third-highest level on record.
Year-to-date imports gained 14.6% on the year at 424.27 million tons, or 11.34 million bpd.
Strong imports came ahead of an expected increase in demand for transport fuel through the Golden Week travel period, which started at the end of September.
Travellers made 826 million trips within mainland China, up 71.3% from a year ago and 4.1% higher than in 2019, according to data released by state media outlet Xinhua.
International travel over the Golden Week period, while lower than initial government estimates, further drove demand, reaching 85% of pre-pandemic levels. (ton=7.3 barrels for crude conversion) (Reporting by Andrew Hayley in Beijing and Chen Aizhu in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
