TOKYO: Japan's crude oil imports from Iran in November fell 20.3 percent from a year earlier, data from the trade ministry showed on Friday, as Japanese refiners continued to curb shipping in the face of sanctions on the Middle Eastern country.
Japan, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, imported 868,443 kilolitres (182,078 barrels per day) of Iranian crude last month, according to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
The Islamic Republic is under pressure from US and European trade and financial restrictions imposed over its disputed nuclear programme.
The sanctions have led to a sharp drop over the past year in its oil exports, a major source of revenue for Tehran.
The United States in September renewed waivers on Iranian sanctions for Japan and 10 European countries because they cut their purchases of the OPEC nation's crude oil.
Tough sanctions from Washington and Europe to force Iran to curb its nuclear programme have already cut Iran's oil exports by more than half this year, costing it more than $5 billion a month. Tehran says the programme is for civilian purposes.
For the first 11 months of 2012, Japan imported 9,971,090 kl (187,212 bpd) of Iranian crude, down 40.0 percent from 16,556,375 kl (311,785 bpd) in the same period a year ago, according to Reuters calculations based on the finance ministry's data.
Japan's oil imports from Iran may be about 15 percent lower next year, capped roughly at 160,000 bpd and may possibly be cut further, Yasushi Kimura, the president of Petroleum Association of Japan, who also serves as the chairman of JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, told reporters last week.
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