Japan's oil imports from Middle East plunge to record low in April

TOKYO - Japan's crude oil imports from the Middle East plunged over 67 percent in volume in April from a year earlier, the lowest single-month level on record, government data showed Thursday, underscoring severe supply disruptions caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The country, which has relied on the region for more than 90 percent of its oil purchases, imported 3.84 million kiloliters of oil from the Middle East in April, the lowest volume since comparable data became available in 1979, according to preliminary trade statistics data by the Finance Ministry.