Japan’s oil import spending rose 58.7% year-on-year — OilPrice
In Japan, spending on oil imports increased by 58.7% year-on-year in August, while physical supply volumes rose by 3.6%. This contributed to a 28% increase in the country’s total import value and the continuation of the trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month, OilPrice reports.
Trade deficit in August
Japan’s trade deficit amounted to $7.12 billion in August. According to OilPrice, this figure slightly exceeded analysts’ expectations and set a record.
The country’s total import value in August also exceeded the previous record set in July. That month, Japan’s spending on oil purchases rose by 87.8% year-on-year. Analysts had expected the total import value in August to increase by 26.3% compared with the same month of the previous year.
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Outlook for oil spending
Koki Akimoto, an analyst at the Daiwa Institute of Research cited by Reuters, believes that Japan’s spending on oil imports may continue to rise. According to him, higher crude oil prices are reflected in cargoes arriving at Japanese ports with a delay of about two months, which could worsen the country’s terms of trade.
Before the start of the US and Israeli war with Iran in late February, Japan received about 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East, OilPrice notes. After that, the country began purchasing oil from Nigeria, Angola, South Sudan, Azerbaijan, the United States and Canada, and also released oil from its reserves several times to ensure sufficient supplies.
