Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports to China soared to 1.74 million barrels per day (b/d) in July, while shipments to the US tumbled to 161,000 b/d compared with 1.03 million b/d a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.

Last month, Saudi oil shipments declined to 6.7 million b/d, about 200,000 b/d less than in June.

It worth noting that Saudi oil production decreased by the same amount in July to 9.6 million b/d.

Saudi crude flows to markets east of the Suez Canal stood at 5.1 million b/d in July. On the other hand, Saudi flows west of the Canal have dropped to about 1.1 million b/d. However, Saudi oil exports to India, Japan, and South Korea also declined last month.

Data shows that Chinese oil imports from Saudi Arabia reached a record level, while flows to the US decreased during the same time.

The Saudi Kingdom has compensated China, the largest crude oil buyer in Asia, for the shortage of crude oil supplies that resulted from the US-imposed sanctions on Iran.

Saudi production remains below the maximum level allowed by the production cut agreement, sponsored by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), at 10.3 million b/d. Saudi Arabia has expressed commitment to the output cut deal until the end of Q1 2020.