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UK reduces oil imports by over 75mn barrels in five years
The UK has reduced its oil imports by more than a fifth (21%) in five years, according to a new online tool from Daily FX.
While the country remains the 12th biggest global importer of oil (importing just over 280mn barrels in 2018), it has taken great strides towards reducing its reliance on such fuels. Between 2013 and 2018, the UK had the eighth-best rate in Europe for reducing such imports, with its intake dropping by 76.9mn barrels (from 359mn to just over 280mn). Malta (93%) and the Republic of Moldova (92%) experienced the most significant decreases across the continent.
The data has been visualised on a new interactive tool built by Daily FX, a portal for foreign exchange (forex) trading news, which displays global commodity imports and exports over the last decade. The tool shows that China has recently overtaken the US as the world’s biggest importer of oil. The Asian giant imported nearly 3.4bn barrels in 2018, which was over 240mn more than the US. China tops the list having increased its oil imports by 64% since 2013 – nearly six times the rate of its rival (11%).
The top 10 global importers of oil (2018) were China (3.38bn barrels), the US (3.14bn barrels), India (1.65bn barrels), Japan (1.09bn barrels), The Republic of Korea (1.09bn barrels), Germany (622mn barrels), Netherlands (506mn barrels), Italy (460mn barrels), France (397mn barrels) and Singapore (376mn barrels).
Daily FX’s tool allows traders to spot developments in the flow of commodities and the growth of both supply and demand while comparing the changes to critical economic indicators. One trend highlighted is the decreasing reliance on oil among African countries. Five of the world’s 10 best nations at reducing oil imports are found on the continent, including the top four. Morocco, Kenya, Burundi and Gambia all decreased such imports by over 99%.
John Kicklighter, Chief Currency Strategist at Daily FX, comments: ‘The world is changing and so is the way that it uses energy. Renewable and environmentally-friendly fuel options are the future, and while the end of crude oil is still far off, there will be considerable changes in the world’s top importers and exporters. Our new tool helps track those changes. While some of the larger countries have increased their appetite, it is interesting from an investor’s perspective to see the UK exploring alternative energy sources and reducing its dependence on oil.’
