Japan’s Oil Imports Fall on Sagging Industrial Output

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s oil imports fell in January for a third month as sluggish industrial output and consumer spending slashed fuel demand.

Japan, the world’s third-biggest crude oil consumer, shipped in 18.69 million kiloliters, or about 3.79 million barrels a day, last month, down 8 percent from a year earlier, a finance ministry preliminary trade report released in Tokyo today shows. Imports of liquefied natural gas dropped 0.8 percent in January to 5.9 million metric tons.

Global oil demand is set to decline a second year in 2009 because of the worsening economic outlook, the International Energy Agency forecast last month. The stronger yen and global recession are sapping demand for exports, causing manufacturers led by Toyota Motor Corp. to cut production.

Japan’s consumption of petroleum products, including automotive, industrial and heating fuel, is projected to fall 4.7 percent in the year starting April, according to the Institute of Energy Economics Japan, a government-run think tank.

Crude and fuel oil requirements by the 10 regional utilities led by Tokyo Electric Power Co. plunged in January by 55 percent and 48 percent from a year earlier, according to data last week from the Federation of Electric Power Companies.

Coal imports dropped 8.7 percent last month to 16.13 million tons, the finance ministry report shows. Utilities burned 6.4 percent less coal for power generation, while their LNG requirements slipped 5.2 percent.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/