Japan’s oil products imports surge in July as local refiners cut runs, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) showed. According to the data, Japan imported 623,650 bpd of oil products in July, rising 7.5% from the prior month and 23.2% higher than a year earlier. At the same month, domestic refiners’ crude throughput fell to 2.098 million bpd, 30.6% below the a-year-ago level.
Japan’s gasoline imports averaged 90,534 bpd in July, increasing by 73.4% year-on-year and 18.3% month-on-month. At the same time, its gasoline exports stood at 13,892 bpd of gasoline, making it a net gasoline importer for the fourth straight month. Gasoil imports fell 28.7% from June to 15,563 in July. Meanwhile, imports of kerosene 18,138 bpd, almost triple June’s 6,503 bpd, while jet fuel imports stood at 1,247 bpd.
