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Market Chatter: Japan's Oil Imports Plunge Nearly 50% Amid US-Iran War, Forcing Shift to US Crude

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An analysis of tanker tracking data from Kpler showed that Japanese crude oil imports dropped 47% year-on-year from March through May, as the US-Iran conflict disrupts shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Nikkei reported on Friday.

Global Middle Eastern crude exports fell 48% during the period, while Japan experienced the steepest decline among the world's top ten oil importers, dropping from seventh place in 2025 to an even sharper contraction this year, said the news agency.

To compensate, Tokyo has pivoted to US crude, which surged from 2% of Japan's petroleum imports in February to over 20% by May, while the share from Saudi Arabia and the UAE fell from 90% to 60%, the publication said.

The crisis underscores Japan's vulnerability to Middle Eastern supply disruptions, though the government began releasing strategic reserves in late March and retains enough stockpiled oil to cover more than 200 days of domestic consumption, the report said.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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