Japan's June oil imports rise as US May crude output falls

Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy reported that June crude oil imports increased to 10.03 million kiloliters, a 5.9 % year‑on‑year rise, marking the first time in four months the volume exceeded the previous year. The share of imports from the Middle East fell to 62.3 %, down 35.4 percentage points, with the United Arab Emirates supplying 3.59 million kl (down 27.3 %), the United States 3.24 million kl (up 7,199.8 %), Saudi Arabia 2.17 million kl (down 30.6 %), Kuwait 0.5 million kl and Ecuador 0.19 million kl. Fuel‑oil production rose 2.8 % to 10.21 million kl, while gasoline, kerosene and B/C heavy oil volumes were above last year’s levels.

In the United States, the Energy Information Administration said crude oil output fell about 2 % in May to an average of 13.71 million barrels per day, while exports reached a record 5.73 million barrels per day for the second consecutive month. Overall U.S. demand for crude and petroleum products dropped more than 3.5 % to about 20.07 million barrels per day, the lowest since March 2025, and distillate fuel consumption fell to 3.57 million barrels per day, the lowest since June 2020. Natural‑gas production eased to 134.0 billion cubic feet per day.