Gasoline imports to Japan are expected to remain high through August as refineries undergo planned maintenance and after recent outages during the peak summer demand season, according to Reuters sources.

• Imports rose 20.4% m/m in June to 476,630 kilolitres, according to METI data, amid refinery outages tightening supplies in Asia and supporting gasoline margins in the region. 
• June imports are equivalent to 99.93kbpd compared to an average of 55.168kbpd in 2023, according to Reuters calculations.
• The rising imports are driven by a drop in refinery runs to about 1.9mbpd in June which could fall further to 1.7mbpd in the coming months, according to Rystad.
• Japan's refinery utilisation rate fell to 63.6% in the week to July 27 from 66.2% in the prior week, Petroleum Association of Japan data showed.
• Overall consumption is expected to decline by 2-3% annually through the fiscal year of 2028, according to a recent METI forecast, due to a shift to hybrid cars and improved fuel efficiency.