China now world's second largest crude oil importer

Shanghai: China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest crude oil importer in May, according to data yesterday that showed an 8 per cent rise in purchases by Japan, where power plants have been forced to burn more crude. Japan's customs-cleared crude oil imports in May rose 8.0 per cent to 18.525 million kilolitres (3.76 million barrels per day) from a year earlier, preliminary data of Japan's Ministry of Finance showed yesterday. China, which surpassed Japan as the world's No. 2 oil consumer, imported 16,198,188 tonnes (118.25 million barrels, or 3.81 million bpd) of crude in May, up 25 per cent from a year ago, customs data showed on Monday.  [27/6/08]