TOKYO — Saudi Arabia took the top spot as biggest oil exporter to Japan, with imports from the Kingdom growing 1.0 percent on the year to 1.04 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 725,000 bpd, down 1.6 percent, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report Friday. Qatar ranked third, but its shipments declined 12.9 percent to 309,000 bpd and Russia was fifth with 202,000 bpd, up 11.4 percent. Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan jumped 25.3 percent in October from a year earlier to 8.19 million barrels, or 264,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first expansion in two months, the report said. As Japan's fourth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 8.1 percent of the Asian nation's total crude imports, compared with 6.2 percent in the same month of last year and 7.3 percent in September, the report added. Japan's overall imports of crude oil went down 3.6 percent year-on-year to 3.28 million bpd for the second consecutive monthly drop. Shipments from the Middle East stood at 2.72 million bpd, and accounted for 81.1 percent of the total, down 3.2 percentage points from the year before. Although the Japanese government has decided to provide insurance for tankers carrying Iranian crude bound for Japan, imports from Iran plunged 40.2 percent last month to 157,000 bpd. The legislation enables the world's No.3 oil consumer to continue importing Iranian oil even after new European Union (EU) sanctions against Iran starting from July, which ban insurance firms of EU countries from covering Iran's exports. Japan has already secured a waiver from US financial sanctions against Iran in return for cutting its imports of Iranian crude oil. Resources-poor Japan is the world's third-largest oil consumer after the US and China, and it relies on crude oil imports for about 50 percent of its energy needs. Shipments of direct-deal, which prices are based on the average spot price of Dubai crude, the benchmark for Asia, account for about 80 percent of Japan's crude imports. Oil prices drop Global oil prices fell Friday with traders taking profits ahead of the weekend pause and amid US budget talks, eurozone uncertainty and tensions over Iran's nuclear program, analysts said. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in January, dropped 22 cents to $87.85 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for January shed 23 cents to $110.53 a barrel in London midday deals. “Crude oil prices consolidated within the recent range... due to the mixed signals from the US about the fiscal cliff program and the on-going uncertainty about eurozone's economic conditions,” said Sucden Financial Research analyst Myrto Sokou. Lawmakers in Washington are locked in tough talks on averting the fiscal cliff of tax rises and spending cuts to come into effect on January 1, which could tip the economy back into recession. While world crude prices are being pressured by economic strains, support is being won by unrest in the Middle East. Oil prices briefly soared last week. — SG/KUNA
