Petroleum Demand Drops in
April for 4th Month in a row

Petroleum demand fell to 58.2 million barrels due to a plunge in industrial use

Domestic petroleum consumption has declined in April for the fourth consecutive month this year in the awake of crude oil price hikes on the international markets.
Korea's petroleum consumption amounted to 58,201,000 barrels, a 6.9 year-on-year drop, the fourth drop since January 2006.
The consecutive month-on-month drop is mainly attributed to a drop in such petroleum products as diesel, Bunker-C oil, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas except gasoline, kerosene and airplane oil, Han Jin-hyun, director at the Petroleum Industry Department at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.
Petroleum product consumption fell to 58,201,000 barrels, a 6.9 percent decline over the previous month, in the continued decline streak following a 1.6 percent fall in January, a 1.9 percent drop in February and an 8.6 percent decline in March. The consumption figure for April is the lowest level in six months since last October as 57,845,000 barrels was consumed.
By sector, the transportation sector rose 2.3 percent due to a rise in freight transportation volume, while the demand of kerosene demand in household and commerce sector increased by 7.1 percent.
The industrial sector witnessed the naphtha and Bunker-C oil tumbling 13.8 percent, while the demand of the generation sector nose-dived 29.0 percent due to a drop the petroleum demand for heating.
By product, diesel consumption dropped 0.1 percent over the previous month due to a decrease in the industrial demand, while the demand for Bunker-C oil tumbled 12.2 percent because of a plunge in industrial and power generation demand.
Naphtha consumption nose-dived 14.8 percent in the wake of regular repairs by such petrochemical firms as LG Petrochemical. LPG consumption dropped 6.4 percent due to a decline in the transportation and heating demand.
Gasoline consumption rose a slightly 1.1 percent, but the actual demand was seen as a decline, given the number of gasoline-fueled automobiles registered that saw a 9.8 percent rise over the previous year.
On the export front, petroleum exports surged 36.3 percent to 21.6 million barrels in April and soared 78.2 percent to $1,597 million in the value. Specifically, diesel exports jumped 94.2 percent; Bunker-C oil shipments abroad surged 32.7 percent; and airplane oil exports increased sharply 48.6 percent. nw

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Chung Sye-kyun.