GENERAL

Japanese Spot Purchases Top 1mn b/d in January 

Japanese purchases of crude oil on the spot market rose to over 1mn b/d in January 1985, their highest level ever, according to recently published statistics. The surge in spot purchases - which in January represented nearly 27% of Japan's oil imports - is believed to be due to the failure to renew direct deal contracts with exporters, which expired at the end of 1984.

The following table shows the growth in Japanese spot...