Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan down for 1st time in two months

TOKYO, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan fell 30.1 percent in January from a year earlier to 7.91 million barrels, or 255,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first decline in two months, government data showed Friday.
As Japan's fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 7.3 percent of the Asian nation's total crude imports, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil declined 12.7 percent year-on-year to 3.49 million bpd for the third straight month of drop. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 80.3 percent of the total, down 2.9 percentage points from the year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, but imports from the kingdom went down 6.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.06 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 872,000 bpd, up 6.5 percent. Russia ranked third with 365,000 bpd, Qatar fourth with 347,000 bpd, respectively.
Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China. (end) mk.ibi