China's oil imports from Saudi Arabia are surging, helping the world's top crude exporter notch its best month since 2020

• Bloomberg data shows Saudi Arabia oil exports this month are on track for their highest levels since April 2020.
• Preliminary numbers through July 18 reveal total observed shipments are headed for 7.7 million barrels a day, up by 1.1 million barrels a day from last month.

China's surge in crude imports is putting Saudi Arabia on pace to reach its highest level of total exports since April 2020, Bloomberg data shows.

Preliminary numbers through July 18 reveal total observed Saudi shipments are headed for 7.7 million barrels a day, compared to a revised 6.6 million barrels a day last month. Bloomberg noted these numbers are subject to revision, as the shorter time span leaves room for adjustment.

If flows maintain this pace, Saudi Arabia would hit its highest mark for exports since April 2020. China, for its part, has ramped up its crude flows to the highest levels since April this year as COVID-19 lockdowns started to ease. China's imports are on track for 1.8 million barrels a day in July.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia's crude shipments to top customers like Japan, South Korea and India have been relatively flat. And exports to the US are set to dip by about 333,000 barrels a day, though analysts expect those figures to recover as some tankers have yet to declare their final destinations.

Notably, Saudi Arabia more than doubled its imports of Russian fuel oil in the second quarter as a way to free up the kingdom's own crude for exports.

And Russia is hiking its oil output for a third month in a row even as its deliveries to China and India are falling off from their peaks this year. Rising domestic demand is offsetting waning export levels, according to a separate Bloomberg report.