TEHRAN  - Chinese imports of Iranian oil witnessed a significant jump in the month of June due to a surge in shipments prior to the recent war and a rise in demand from independent refineries. 
China, the world’s leading importer of and biggest purchaser of Iranian crude oil, imported over 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between 1 June and 20 June, ship tracker Vortexa revealed.
According to analytics firm Kpler, the month-to-date average of China’s Iranian oil imports stands at 1.46 million bpd as of 27 June, up from one million bpd the month before. 
The surge in imports is in part due to accelerated discharge of large amounts of Iranian oil by sea, after Iranian export loadings surged to a multi-year high of 1.83 bpd, Kpler data revealed. 
Usually, it takes a minimum of one month for sanctioned Iranian oil to arrive at Chinese ports. 
Trump reinstated his maximum pressure policy on Iran upon entering office for his second term earlier this year, particularly cracking down hard on Iranian oil exports.