Korea's Middle East crude imports down 37% in April amid tensions - The Korea Times

Oil prices are displayed at a gas station in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Korea's imports of crude oil from the Middle East slipped 37 percent in April from a year earlier amid prolonged geopolitical tensions in the region, data showed Sunday.

According to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea's total crude imports came to 8.46 million tons in April, down 22.8 percent from a year earlier.

Imports from the Middle East fell 37.3 percent on-year to 4.49 million tons in April, accounting for 53.1 percent of the total. The figure marks a 12.1 percentage-point drop from 65.2 percent tallied a year earlier.

Imports from Saudi Arabia, the biggest supplier, fell 37.6 percent on-year in April to 2.14 million tons, the KITA data showed.