Japan imports up 9.3% in August

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Japan imports up 9.3% in August

Since June, Japan stopped buying crude from Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and Japanese refiners have sought alternatives from the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia.

The dependency rate in the Middle East hit 97.7 per cent in July, the highest since 1952, said an official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry METI. In August, the figure fell slightly from the previous month, as imports from the United States grew.

It was the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year increase.

Japan's total crude oil imports rose 9.3 per cent from a year ago to 2.98 million barrels per day or 14.69 million barrels per day in August.