China Dec crude oil imports 3rd-highest in yr, 2022 imports down 0.9%

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports in December rose 4.2% from a year earlier to the third-highest in 2022 on a daily basis, data showed on Friday, as state refiners bought Saudi crude at lower official prices and independent refiners rushed to use quotas.

This brought the 2022 purchases of the world's top buyer to 508.28 million tonnes, 0.9% lower than 2021 and the second annual dip in a row, as China's strict COVID-19 control measures hit the economy and fuel demand hard.

Refiners took in 48.07 million tonnes of crude oil last month, equivalent to 11.3 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

That was a touch lower from November and up from 10.9 million bpd in December 2021.

State refiners raised purchases of Saudi crude oil due to its lower pricing versus November, while independent refiners chased deeply discounted Iranian oil trying to use up their quotas before year-end, said traders and analysts.

The data also showed fuel exports - including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and marine fuel oil - reached 7.7 million tonnes, highest since April of 2020 and up from 6.14 million tonnes in November.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tom Hogue)