Japan’s import of crude oil rose by 5.2% year on year to 16.2m kilolitres in June this year, data by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) showed on Wednesday. The value of crude imports rose by 3.6% year on year to (Y) 931.2bn ($11.9bn) in June, according to the data. Overall imports of oil products, including naphtha, fell by 12% year on year to 2.09m kilolitres in June, the data showed. The value of oil product imports fell by 17% year on year to Y114.5bn, the MOF said. Japan ’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose by 6.7% year on year to 6.65m kilolitres in June, it said. The import value of LNG rose by 25% year on year to Y471.6bn, according to the MOF. Meanwhile, the country’s imports of naphtha for ethylene production fell by 1.8% month on month to 988,504 tonnes, or 1.45m kilolitres, in June, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed late on Tuesday. Japan ’s naphtha imports for ethylene production fell 9.1% month on month to $961.2m (€798m), according to the METI. The average cost of naphtha was $972.4/tonne in June, a 7.4% decrease from $1,050.0/tonne in May, the METI data showed.

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