Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan in November edged down 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 7.26 million barrels, or 242,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the third consecutive monthly decline, government data showed Wednesday.

As Japan’s third-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 9.4 percent of its total crude imports, compared with 8.7 percent in the same month of last year, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report.

Japan’s overall imports of crude oil in November fell 8.1 percent year-on-year to 2.58 million bpd, down for the first time in 16 months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 95.4 percent of the total, up 3.7 percentage points from the year before.

By country, the United Arab Emirates remained in the top spot, with imports from the country growing 0.8 percent from the year before to 1.07 million bpd, followed by Saudi Arabia with 937,000 bpd, down 13.0 percent. Qatar ranked fourth with 130,000 bpd and Ecuador fifth with 69,000 bpd, respectively.

Japan is the world’s-third biggest oil consumer after China and the US

Source: Kuwait News Agency