Japanese Demand for Heating Kerosene Appears to Be Passing out of Its Peak Annual Period

Japanese demand for heating kerosene appears to be passing out of its peak annual period, as the country starts to experience warmer temperatures against the same time of last year, industry sources said Friday. 

Japan's kerosene shipments fell on the year in the first half of February after many parts of the country -- particularly in the west -- started experiencing warmer weather, the sources said. 

According to data released Thursday by the Petroleum Association of Japan showed, the country's kerosene stocks edged up 0.6% to 13.79 million barrels February 9, from 13.71 million barrels February 2. 

Kerosene inventories were 13.1% higher than year-ago levels in the week to February 9, marking a second-consecutive year-on-year increase, Platts data showed. 

PAJ released its weekly oil statistics on Thursday instead of Wednesday, due to a national holiday on Monday. 

North and northeastern regions as well as the populous eastern regions of the country are forecast to experience temperatures below the 30-year average in a month-long forecast released Friday by the Japan Meteorological Agency. 

Japan's central Tokai region and the Kinki region in the west are also forecast to experience below-average temperatures over February 16-March 15, the JMA said. 

The Hokuriku region in the northwest is forecast to experience average or below-average temperatures in the month, while all other regions in the west and southwest, except for Okinawa, are forecast to experience average temperatures, it added.