U.S. Crude Oil Exports Hit Record High in the Month of June

U.S. crude oil exports surged 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June to a monthly record of 3.16 million bpd as South Korea bought record volumes and China resumed purchases, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed on Friday. South Korea surpassed Canada to become the biggest purchaser of U.S. crude at about 605,000 bpd.

China purchased about 292,000 bpd, the most since June last year and was the third-largest buyer of U.S. crude in June, the data showed. China, once the top buyer of U.S. crude, had slashed its purchases last year as a trade war between the world’s two largest economies has dragged on.

U.S. President Donald Trump stunned financial markets on Thursday by saying he plans to levy the additional duties from Sept. 1, marking an abrupt end to a truce in a year-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted supply chains.

U.S. crude exports have surged since an export ban was lifted in late 2015, with shipments reaching 30 countries in June. Other top buyers in June were Canada, with about 311,000 bpd and India at 290,000 bpd, followed by Netherlands, which took in about 274,000 bpd. India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, has stepped up U.S. crude purchases after Washington imposed sanctions on Tehran in November.

The Trump administration renewed sanctions against Iran last year over its nuclear program, although some buyers were allowed to continue taking limited volumes of Iranian oil under a six-month waiver. In May, the United States ended those exemptions.

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar; Editing by Marguerita Choy)