Japan imports less naphtha from the Middle East
Japanese imports of naphtha from the Mideast Gulf fell by 5pc on the year during January-August. Exports from the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been significantly lower because of refinery turnarounds and lower crude runs.
But Japanese buyers increased naphtha imports from other sources, with total imports rising by 4pc to 11.71mn t during the eight-month period. The increase is linked to a fall in production as a result of refinery run cuts. Japan produced 173,625 b/d from 26 July to 29 August, down by 47.5pc from 330,470 b/d a year earlier, according to weekly data from the Petroleum Association of Japan, because of the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Japan imported 1.66mn t of naphtha in August, up by 5.6pc from July and by 13.8pc from August 2019, according to customs data released today by the country's finance ministry.
Japan received 5.84mn t of naphtha from the Mideast Gulf during the eight-month period, down from 6.15mn t a year earlier, according to the ministry of finance.
Qatar was the top exporter of naphtha to Japan, supplying a total of 2.55mn t from January-August, up from 2.03mn t a year earlier. This made up more than 21pc of Japan's total naphtha imports and 43pc of all its Mideast Gulf naphtha imports during the eight-month period.
Imports from the UAE fell by 30pc to 1.59mn t during January-August from 2.26mn t a year earlier, with more naphtha diverted to the gasoline blending pool and reformers.
Japan imported 849,000t of naphtha from Kuwait during January-July, but took no cargoes from the country in August. Saudi Arabia sold just one 40,000t cargo to Japan in August, with total imports from the kingdom down to 415,000t over January-August from 620,000t in the year-earlier period.
Supplies from Bahrain were almost stable from a year earlier at 445,000t during January-August, but naphtha arrivals from the country rose above 100,000t in August from 75,000t in July. Planned maintenance at Bahrain's sole 262,000 b/d Sitra refinery may reduce its export capacity this month. Operator state-owned Bapco will shut down unspecified units for maintenance in the first week of October. It is unclear for how long the units will be off line, but market participants said the turnaround is likely to last 40 days.
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Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
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US job growth nearly halved in April: Update
US job growth nearly halved in April: Update
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US job growth nearly halved in April
US job growth nearly halved in April
Houston, 3 May (Argus) — The US added fewer jobs in April as the unemployment rate ticked up and average earnings growth fell, signs of gradually weakening labor market conditions. The US added 175,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported today, fewer than the 238,000 analysts anticipated. That compared with an upwardly revised 315,000 jobs in March and a downwardly revised 236,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9pc from 3.8pc. The unemployment rate has ranged from 3.7-3.9pc since August 2023, near the five-decade low of 3.4pc. The latest employment report comes after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its target lending rate unchanged for a sixth time and signaled it would be slower in cutting rates from two-decade highs as the labor market has remained "strong" and inflation, even while easing, is "still too high". US stocks opened more than 1pc higher today after the jobs report and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.47pc. Futures markets showed odds of a September rate cut rose by about 10 percentage points to about 70pc after the report. Average hourly earnings grew by 3.9pc over the 12 month period, down from 4.1pc in the period ended in March. Job gains in the 12 months through March averaged 242,000. Gains, including revisions, averaged 276,000 in the prior three-month period. Job gains occurred in health care, social services and transportation and warehousing. Health care added 56,000 jobs, in line with the gains over the prior 12 months. Transportation and warehousing added 22,000, also near the 12-month average. Retail trade added 20,000. Construction added 9,000 following 40,000 in March. Government added 8,000, slowing from an average of 55,000 in the prior 12 months. Manufacturing added 9,000 jobs after posting 4,000 jobs the prior month. Mining and logging lost 3,000 jobs. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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