Japan's naphtha imports in June increased from a year earlier, despite reduced appetite from the country's ethylene producers.
Naphtha imports in June totalled 1.2mn t, up by 3.2pc from a year earlier, according to customs data released today by the country's finance ministry. But the June imports were lower by 17.5pc compared with May purchases.
Imports from the UAE, Japan's top exporter, totalled 287,048t in June, up by 74.4pc from a year earlier. Japan received 117,084t from Saudi Arabia and 12,188t from Malaysia after no cargoes were delivered from both countries in June last year. Supplies from the US and Russia also grew by 52.4pc to 101,808t and by 32.8pc to 86,818t respectively.
The increases outstripped reduced imports from other sources. Qatari supplies fell by 10.4pc from a year earlier to 233,183t, while imports from Kuwait and Bahrain fell by 33.1pc to 54,498t and by 73.4pc to 17,382t respectively. Imports from South Korea and India also dropped by 33.7pc to 183,903t and by 59.6pc to 19,234t respectively.
Japan imported 906,282t of naphtha as a feedstock for ethylene in June, down by 2.1pc from a year earlier, according to data from the ministry of economy, trade and industry (Meti). The June imports for ethylene accounted for around 76pc of Japan's total imports on a customs data basis.
Ethylene production in June rose by 19.4pc from a year earlier to 492,900t, the Meti data show. Just two crackers were having regular maintenance in June, down from three units in June last year.
Japan's import costs for naphtha averaged $579.51/t on a delivered basis in June, down by 11.3pc from a year earlier, according to the customs data. This compared with import costs of $574.70/t for ethylene production based on the Meti data.
Meti's survey asks Japanese ethylene producers to submit details of their purchases, which differs from customs data released by the finance ministry.
