China's crude oil imports fell for the first time in two-and-half years in January as refineries drew on hefty inventories.
Import growth by the world's second-biggest user is expected to slow after last year's surge helped drive oil prices to record highs.
But analysts said heavy year-end stockpiling by refiners and the erratic nature of Chinese data were more likely causes for the sharp fall than a sudden collapse in demand.
The General Administration of Customs said January crude imports fell 24 per cent on the year to 7.8 million tonnes (1.84 million barrels per day), sharply lower than the average import level of 2.45 million bpd for all of 2004.
Despite the drop, China's state-run refiners churned out oil products at the second-highest monthly rate ever, processing 24.26 million tonnes (5.7 million bpd) to sate demand ahead of the Lunar New Year in February, official data showed.
The January import figure also came off a high base in 2004, when China boosted crude imports to replenish depleted domestic stocks as demand soared amid the worst power crunch in decades.
