German Jan-Nov oil imports up 9.4%, bill up 77.4%

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German crude oil import volumes rose 9.4% in the first 11 months of 2022 on a year-on-year basis as the economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, while the bill rose sharply due to higher prices, official data showed.

Russia remained the top supplier, holding a 26.2% share of Germany’s oil imports in the period, monthly statistics from the BAFA foreign trade office showed.

On Dec. 5, 2022, the European Union banned Russian crude imports and G7 countries set a price cap on Russian seaborne exports, reducing subsequent arrivals from Russia. The sanctions were part of Western nations’ response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Some 23.3% of German oil imports in the January-October period came from the British and Norwegian North Sea, while imports from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) contributed 17.5%.

The rest was shared among other sources, including Kazakhstan and the United States.

BAFA releases import data with a few months’ delay meaning the effect of sanctions and Russian counter actions in energy flows specifically on Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, is appearing only gradually.

Total oil imports in January through November increased to 80.8 million tonnes from 73.9 million in the same months of 2021, BAFA said.

The country spent 56.6 billion euros ($60.68 billion) on crude oil imports in the 11 months, 77.4% more than in the comparable year-earlier period.

The average price paid per tonne on the border over the 11 months rose 62.3% compared with the same period a year earlier, standing at 699.8 euros, BAFA said.

Global oil prices are strong on optimism around recovering demand in China.[O/R]

($1 = 0.9327 euros)

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Robert Birsel)