TEHRAN – Four major Asian buyers of Iranian crude imported a total of 1.13 million barrels per day (bpd) from Iran in September, the data released by Reuters showed.

According to the government and ship-tracking data, imports of Iranian crude oil by China, India, Japan and South Korea in September fell 40.9 percent from a year earlier.

China's imports of Iranian crude tumbled 41.6 percent in September from a year earlier to 458,000 bpd, according to oil flow data on Refinitiv Eikon. China this year halted the release of country breakdowns for its crude imports.

Meanwhile, India's imports from Iran rose 27 percent from the same month last year to 527,600 bpd, and buyers there plan to take 9 million barrels of Iranian oil in November, an industry source said, indicating a commitment to continuing purchases.

Japan reduced imports from Iran by 31 percent last month, trade ministry data showed on Wednesday.

Japan last loaded crude oil from Iran in mid-September, according to Refinitiv data.

EF/MA