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Japan’s crude imports to remain at multi-decade low until year-end: PAJ chief

Japan’s crude oil imports will likely remain at the current tepid pace until the end of 2020, having slowed to a multi-decade monthly low in July following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which had slashed domestic oil demand, the Petroleum Association of Japan’s president Tsutomu Sugimori said Sept. 17.

“I believe it will likely remain at the current level [until the end of the year],” Sugimori said at a press conference in Tokyo, when asked to comment about Japan’s crude import outlook beyond October. Japan’s crude imports had fallen to the lowest level in more than half a century over June-July.

“Although [domestic] demand has been declining in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we have been taking contractual [crude] volumes,” Sugimori said. “This has increased crude stocks sharply, which has resulted in a significant reduction [in crude imports] over July-September to reduce the stocks.”
Source: Platts

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