China's Yuan Crude Futures Hit All-Time Record on Saudi Pipeline Outage and Resurgent Refiner Buying
Shanghai INE contracts touched a record 929.4 yuan per barrel on September 15, driven by a Saudi pipeline outage and resurgent Chinese refiner demand.
Shanghai's yuan-denominated crude oil futures reached 929.4 yuan per barrel on Tuesday (2026-09-15), the highest price since the INE contract began trading in 2018, as the shutdown of an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia tightened global supply and Chinese refiners stepped up spot purchases of Middle Eastern grades.6,5
The record followed a collapse in Chinese crude imports that had sent ripples through oil markets from February through June. China, the world's largest crude importer, cut its purchases to 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, 32% less than the previous quarter, General Administration of Customs data show. Imports in May and June fell below 8.0 million b/d for the first time since 2016.3
Near-halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz forced much of that cut. State-owned processors responded by slashing refinery run rates to below 67% of capacity, a record low in Mysteel Oilchem data going back to 2021. China processed 54.65 million tons of crude in April, 11% less than in March and 5.8% lower year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.1
Now the refiners are back. Oman and Murban crudes were both above $120 per barrel during the week of 2026-09-14. The November 2026 Murban contract rose 0.69% to $128.64 early on Tuesday (2026-09-15). ICE Brent front-month sat at $103.37 per barrel in weekend data. Dubai crude was at $115.46 per barrel. The $12 spread between the two reflects how firmly Asian buyers are lifting Middle Eastern grades above Atlantic benchmarks.5,6
Abu Dhabi's Murban commanded a premium of more than $30 per barrel to Dubai for delivery to East Asia, traders told Rigzone. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz were running at 6 million to 8 million barrels per day during the week of 2026-08-24, though attacks in the waterway may have since reduced that volume.4
Behind the current rally lies a buying spree China ran through late 2025. China imported an annual record of 11.6 million b/d across 2025, EIA data show, filling strategic reserves when crude prices were at their lowest since 2020. In the second half of 2025, import volumes averaged 12.0 million b/d, a pace maintained through February 2026 before Hormuz disruptions forced a sharp reversal.3
That reversal hit all major corridors simultaneously. Between the first and second quarters of 2026, imports from Iraq fell by 910,000 b/d, shipments from Russia, China's top crude supplier, dropped by 640,000 b/d, and UAE volumes declined by 600,000 b/d, General Administration of Customs data show.3
The UAE has moved to fill part of that gap. After exiting OPEC to bypass production quotas, Abu Dhabi raised output to approximately 3.8 million barrels per day, near its highest level since April 2020, Crypto Briefing reported. India and China have both responded by bidding more aggressively for Persian Gulf barrels, pushing differentials sharply higher as the two biggest importers compete for the same finite supply.2,4
The yuan-priced INE contract, introduced in 2018 partly to let China settle crude trade outside the dollar system, now acts as a direct gauge of how Chinese refiners price Hormuz-corridor supply risk in their own currency. JKM Asian LNG spot prices sat at $27.51/MMBtu in weekend data, a bearish reading relative to crude that suggests gas markets are not embedding the same degree of supply disruption.4
The Murban-to-Dubai spread of more than $30 per barrel for East Asia delivery is the clearest signal of how aggressively Asian refiners are competing for finite Gulf supply. If Chinese state refiners ease off spot purchases — whether from margin pressure or a recovery in run-rate profitability — that premium is the first thing to give.4