South Korea May crude oil imports 3.2% below pre-pandemic levels

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - South Korean imports of crude oil in May were 3.2% below the same month in 2019, the closest imports have been to a pre-pandemic equivalent figure since October last year, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.

At 10.912 million mt, imports in May were down just 300,000 mt from the May 2019 figure as oil demand in the country recovers.

The May 2021 figure was 2.3% down from a month earlier and 3.2% up on teh same month in 2020.

Imports of crude from Russia nearly halved on the month to 586,131 mt in May, down from 1.082 million mt in April.

Crude from Mexico and Kazakhstan also each fell between 230,000 and 240,000 mt, to 591,435 mt and 264,831 mt respectively.

Oman and Qatar also lost ground as Middle East exporters, but the United Arab Emirates gained 384,069 mt to 907,711 mt.

Saudi Arabia remained the largest supplier to South Korea by some margin, with 3.2 million mt of exports, followed by the United States with 1.2 million mt.