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Japan power firms' Dec crude use up 13.4 pct yr/yr

TOKYO: Crude oil burned by Japan's major power companies rose 13.4 percent in December from a year earlier to 792,642 kilolitres (kl), the Federation of Electric Power Companies said in a preliminary report on Monday.

But the total was down 19.4 percent from December 1997.

Temperatures last month were above normal, but below year-earlier levels.

Crude oil inventories held at the end of December by the nine utilities that operate crude-fired generators totaled 3.186 million kl. That was flat from a year before, but up 9.1 percent from December 1997.-Reuters