Japan's total oil sales fall 4% in 2014: METI

[TOKYO] Japan's total oil product sales fell 4 per cent in 2014 from a year earlier to 3.19 million barrels per day (bpd), data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on Friday showed.

Crude oil imports fell 5.2 per cent last year to 3.44 million bpd, the data showed.

Domestic oil demand is expected to fall a few per cent per year due to shrinking population and an increasing popularity of fuel-efficient motor vehicles.

Oil product sales in December fell 1 per cent from a year earlier, the data showed. Oil product sales in the world's fourth-biggest importer of crude fell to 3.8 million barrels per day (18.83 million kilolitres for the month), the ministry said.

REUTERS