Photo : YONHAP News
A recent analysis has shown that exports of crude oil from the Middle East sharply dropped between March and May amid the protracted war between the United States and Iran, and that South Korea and Japan were hit the hardest due to their heavy reliance.
Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, which conducted an analysis of data from global maritime analytics firm Kpler, estimated crude shipments from the Middle East between March and May to drop 48 percent on-year amid Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
The daily forecasts Japan’s crude oil imports to decline by 47 percent, the biggest on-year drop among the world’s top ten crude importers, and that of South Korea to fall by 31 percent, the second-biggest margin.
In February, prior to the Iran war, 90 percent of Japan’s crude imports and 70 percent of South Korea’s were from the Middle East.
China’s reliance, on the other hand, stands relatively lower at around 40 percent, and its crude imports during the three-month period were expected to drop 18 percent.