(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, July 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait''s crude oil exports to Japan fell 42.4 percent in May from a year earlier to 6.27 million barrels, or 202,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the first drop in five months, government data showed.
Japan''s fifth-biggest oil provider, Kuwait supplied 6.1 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 edged up 0.6 percent year-on-year to 3.32 million bpd in May, up for the second straight month.
Shipments from the Middle East accounted for 87.6 percent of the total, up 2.6 percentage points from a year before.
Saudi Arabia remained Japan''s No.1 oil supplier, but imports from the Kingdom slid 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 1.13 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 865,000 bpd, up 0.1 percent.
Qatar ranked third with 318,000 bpd and Iran fourth with 308,000 bpd, respectively. Japan is the world''s-third biggest oil consumer after the US and China, importing virtually all its fossil fuels. (end) mk.gta