(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan in December surged 32.2 percent from a year earlier to 7.21 million barrels, or 233,000 barrels per day (bpd), up for the second straight month, government data showed.
As Japan's fourth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.6 percent of the Asian nation's total crude imports, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report.
Japan's overall imports of crude oil declined 2.4 percent year-on-year to 3.53 million bpd for the first drop in two months. Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 87.0 percent of the total, up 0.2 percentage points from the year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan's No.1 oil supplier, but imports from the kingdom edged down 0.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.42 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 911,000 bpd, up 8.3 percent.
Qatar ranked third with 250,000 bpd and Iran fifth with 219,000 bpd, respectively.
Japan is the world's-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China, importing virtually all its fossil fuels. (end) mk.tg
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