LONDON - French diesel imports were up more than 70% so far in October, compared with the full month of September as weeks-long strikes by refinery workers in the country cause big shortages of the motor fuel.
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Imports in the 1-10 October period reached over 590,000 barrels per day (bpd), data from oil analytics firm Vortexa showed, up 37% from October 2021 levels, and the highest since Vortexa started tracking data in 2016.
Strike action and unplanned maintenance have taken offline more than 60% of France's refining capacity - or 740,000 bpd - forcing it to import more at a time when global supply shortages have pushed up diesel costs.
The French government on Tuesday said it was ready to intervene to end the strikes.
Benchmark European diesel margins hit an all-time high, according to Reuters calculations, largely because of the strikes.
France has been mainly importing more diesel from India, Vortexa senior market analyst Pamela Munger said, accounting for 24% of the total for October. Imports have also been coming from South Korea, with smaller volumes arriving from China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and northwest Europe, she added.