By Osamu Tsukimori
TOKYO (Reuters) - Imports of Iranian oil by four major buyers in Asia in July jumped 61.1 percent from a year earlier, marking the biggest percentage gain since April 2014, reflecting Tehran's aggressive moves to recoup market share, lost under international sanctions.
Iran is regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected since sanctions were lifted in January, and Iran's senior government official said it sees its oil production at 4 million barrels per day by year-end. [nL9N15G01F]
The four countries, South Korea, Japan, China and India, imported 1.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, government and ship-tracking data showed.
Japan's trade ministry on Wednesday released official data showing its imports jumped 61.8 percent from a year earlier to 256,651 bpd last month.
Imports by South Korea jumped more than fourfold last month, while India's imports more than doubled from a year ago.
The following tables show Asia's Iran crude imports in bpd for last month and the year to date.
Nation Jul-16 Jul-15 yr/yr pct
China 566,191 575,700 -1.7
India 523,100 215,400 142.8
Japan 256,651 158,608 61.8
Korea 291,097 66,710 336.4
Total 1,637,039 1,016,418 61.1
Nation Jan-July 2016 Jan-July 2015 yr/yr pct
China 595,598 587,400 1.4
India 368,300 215,300 71.0
Japan 213,261 170,727 24.9
Korea 268,667 111,665 140.6
Total 1,445,826 1,085,092 33.2
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
