Japan joins coordinated sales of oilCAUTIOUS OFFERING: The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the volume offered was 100,000 kiloliters, or only the equivalent to 630,000 barrelsBloombergJapan started a sale of oil from its strategic reserves to combat rising prices with a modest sale, joining an unprecedented coordinated release of crude from strategic stockpiles that has been led by the US. An aerial photograph shows Idemitsu Kosan Co’s oil factory in Ichihara, east of Tokyo, on Nov. 12. US President Joe Biden’s administration started tapping the first of its pledged 50 million barrels of reserves not long after announcing the coordinated release late last month. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda last month said that Japan would conduct the release as it replaces oil in its stockpiles. At the same time, OPEC and its allies have kept boosting supplies, and the US has led the coordinated release of oil from national strategic reserves.

Source: Taipei Times December 27, 2021 23:25 UTC