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Japan Could Increase May Oil Imports to Three-Quarters of Pre-War Level, Bloomberg Data Show

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Japan will increase its imports of crude oil in May to 1.7 million barrels a day as its refiners find supplies in areas not affected by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg analysis showed on Tuesday.

The May import estimate would be about three-quarters of what Japan imported around the same time a year ago, during a time of relative normalcy for energy markets.

Bloomberg made the estimate using its vessel-tracking data as of May 19 and said imports could be higher than the government's estimates due to independently-purchased oil cargoes from the US and Saudi Arabia transiting the Red Sea.

It is possible that some of these cargoes could be rerouted away from Japan, Bloomberg said, with destination switching seen more frequently since the Iran war began in late February.

Japanese government had forecast that 1.4 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern crude, not transiting the Strait of Hormuz plus crude from the US, would reach Japan each day.

About 90% of Japan's crude oil comes from the Middle East, forcing both the government and private companies to search for alternatives since the start of the Iran war, the article said.

Japan has twice released reserves to stabilize the market and now has about 202 days of oil left, down from 243 at the end of February when the war started, Bloomberg said.

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