China April fuel stocks fall 15 pct -source

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - Refined fuel inventories held by China's top two oil firms fell 15 percent to below 12 million tonnes during April, while their fuel sales rose 5.2 percent, an industry official with access to the data told Reuters on Friday.

The fall in fuel stocks at Sinopec O386.HK and CNPC is the second monthly decline in a row, following nearly a year of rising inventories in the world's second biggest oil-consuming nation.

The source said March's stockdraw was 6.1 percent, much less than a figure of 14.7 percent reported last month by the Beijing News, which cited industry figures. The sudden fall was explained by some analysts as evidence of rising demand and by others as an indication of wholesalers stockpiling fuel.

Gasoline inventories held by state refiners CNPC and Sinopec fell 5.3 percent in April while diesel inventories dropped by a hefty 21.6 percent in the same period, the source said.

Sales of gasoline by the two oil majors rose 6.6 percent in April while diesel sales increased by 7.4 percent, said the source, who declined to be named.

The source also said that fuel production at the two oil majors rose 1.7 percent in April than March. (Reporting by Eadie Chen and Tom Miles) (eadie.chen@reuters.com; +8610 6627 1268; Reuters Messaging: eadie.chen.reuters.com@reuters.net))