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Japan's July oil

output imports up

but sales down

TOKYO: Japan's oil product imports in July jumped 19.5 percent year on year to 3.1 million kilolitres (kl), the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.

Naphtha imports at 2.2 million kl was exceptionally high, reflecting healthy demand from the petrochemical industry, a MITI official told reproters.

However, total domestic oil product sales in July fell for a second consecutive month. They were down 3.4 percent year on year to 18.57 million kl, MITI said.

Naphtha sales set a record high for July, up 9.7 percent year on year to 3.4 million kl, but overall sales were weighed down by sluggish demand for fuel oil C.

MITI said a 24 percent fall in fuel oil C sales, to 3.2 million kl, was due to subdued buying from utilities.

Unilke last summer when a heatwave and drought sent fossil fuel consumption soaring, demand was slow in most of July.

"Hydroelectric power plants were running at high levels, not to mention nuclear power plants," the MITI official said.

"There was not much need for utilities to buy additional fuel oil C or crude oil for direct burning in July as their stockpiles were ample in anticipation of another hot summer," he said.-Reuter