*All key crude suppliers to Japan have seen volumes fall this year, with overall imports of 2.37mn b/d for 7M 2021 down by a further 8% from 2020’s multi-decade low. July at 2.08mn b/d saw another month of threadbare arrivals.

*Saudi Arabia and the UAE remain by some distance Japan’s top suppliers. Both have also seen volumes fall this year, albeit in the case of Saudi by a relatively modest 2.4% at 941,000 b/d. July’s 735,000 b/d from the kingdom was second only to June’s record low of 715,000 b/d. (CONTINUED - 229 WORDS)