China’s weakening demand for domestic diesel for transportation and industrial use has fueled a spike in exports, according to Platts, the international commodities information provider.

China’s diesel exports in October soared 78.6 percent year-on-year to 250,000 metric tons, a high for the previous six months, according to figures released by Platts.

However, domestic output of diesel in October was flat compared with the last year at 14.59 million tons.

The reduced demand was attributed in part to the overall economic slowdown.

Although China’s diesel imports are relatively small, October imports dropped a whopping 87.5 percent year-on-year to 5,000 tons.

Diesel fuel accounts for the biggest share of consumption of refined oil products. In October, China’s overall diesel consumption dipped slightly to 14.35 million tons, or 0.8 percent year-on-year.