Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan increased by 33.7% during September, when compared to volumes from the same period during 2015. It reached 6.83mb of oil, averaging 228,000b/d. This is the second straight month in which Kuwait’s exports to Japan have shown a growth, reported Mubasher News.

According to a preliminary report by the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency, Kuwait is Japan’s fifth-biggest oil provider, with 7% of the Asian nation’s total crude imports. While Japan’s overall imports of crude oil edged down 0.8% to 3.24mb/d for the third consecutive month of fall, according to Kuna. However, shipments from the Middle East accounted for 87.1% of the total up by 3.4% when compared with 2015.

This came as the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) declared that the price of Kuwaiti oil went down $1.10 to $44.51 per barrel. In world markets, oil prices plunged due to fears that OPEC members would not commit to cutting down production as agreed  upon in full and due to objections by number of countries, informed Kuna in a separate report.