Japan's imports of oil from Iran fell 27.3 percent in February from a month earlier, customs-cleared data showed on Thursday, as the third-biggest buyer of Iranian crude complied with US demands to curb purchases. The United States last week exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions citing their efforts to significantly cut purchases, while Iran's top customers China and India remain at risk of such steps.
Japan cut Iran imports even as its total imports rose 1.8 percent last month on demand for reconstruction and the switching off of all but one of its nuclear reactors following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Utilities have ramped up oil and gas use to offset the decline in nuclear output.
Its imports from Iran last month totalled 1,234,082 kiloliters (267,700 barrels per day), Ministry of Finance data showed. That was the lowest since August and down 43.4 percent compared to February 2011. Iran accounted for 6.4 percent of the total, down from 9 percent in January. Japan's more closely watched monthly oil data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is due on Friday. The METI data reflecting shipments to refineries and oil terminals sometimes differs from customs-cleared trade data.
The European Union agreed last week that some insurance on Iranian oil shipments headed for destinations other than Europe will be exempted until July 1 from its embargo on trade in the crude. The EU move has forced India and other Asian shipowners dependent on European insurance to look for replacement coverage elsewhere, such as in China, Russia and the Middle East. Japanese buyers remain concerned about whether they could continue importing from Iran from July onwards.
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