Crude oil exports slipped by 271 Mb/d in May to 3.7 MMb/d, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Shipments to Asia Pacific fell by 681 Mb/d, pushing it back to the No. 2 spot, while cargoes to Europe jumped by 352 Mb/d making it the top buyer at 1.8 MMb/d. North America and Latin America procured 224 Mb/d and 203 Mb/d, respectively. After two years of no cargoes, 26 Mb/d were sent to Africa.
The Netherlands was the top buyer of U.S. crude in May. The country imported 565 Mb/d during the month, followed by South Korea at 324 Mb/d and China at 278 Mb/d. Overall, in the first five months of the year, China is the top importer of U.S. crude oil, followed by the Netherlands.
