FRANKFURT, Feb 7 (Reuters) – German crude oil import volumes rose 9.4% in the first 11 months of 2022 on an annual basis as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, while the bill rose sharply due to higher prices, official data showed.
Russia remained the main supplier, holding a 26.2% share of Germany’s oil imports during the period, according to monthly statistics from the BAFA foreign trade office.
On December 5, 2022, the European Union banned Russian crude imports and G7 countries set a price cap on Russian seaborne exports, reducing further 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 by 17.5%.
The rest was shared between other sources, including Kazakhstan and the United States.
BAFA releases import data a few months late, meaning the effect of Russian sanctions and counter-actions in energy flows specifically on Germany, the EU’s largest economy, n appears only gradually.
Latest updates
See 2 more stories
Total oil imports from January to November rose 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 period of the previous year .
The average price paid per tonne at the border over the 11 months increased by 62.3% compared to the same period a year earlier, standing at 699.8 euros, the BAFA said.
Global oil prices are strong on optimism around demand recovery in China.
($1 = 0.9327 euros)
Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Robert Birsel
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
