 Japan’s crude oil imports declined in June by 344 tb/d or 9.6% to 3.23 mb/d m-o-m. But y-o-y, the figure represented an increase of 6%, making this the fourth consecutive monthly rise. In terms of suppliers, Saudi Arabia, the largest crude oil supplier to Japan, gained 7.1% on an annual basis. And yet, on a monthly basis, imports from Saudi Arabia in June were lower than the volumes reported in the previous month. This decline came on the back of the start of the refinery maintenance season in Japan. Product imports increased by 6% in June, to 633 tb/d. Annually, they rose by 49 tb/d or 8.4%. Product exports in June decreased by 0.6% m-o-m to average 475 tb/d, and they fell by 83 tb/d or 14.9% y-o-y.
Consequently, Japan’s net oil imports decreased by 305 tb/d from the previous month to reach 3.4 mb/d, constituting an 8.3% decrease m-o-m, but a 10.2% gain y-o-y. In terms of market share, Saudi Arabia maintained its position as the largest supplier of crude oil to Japan, with 30.5% of imports in June, followed by the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, with 20.1%,10.9% and 6.5% respectively.
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