Japan’s crude imports stand at 2,492 kbpd, refinery throughput at 2,349 kbpd, and end-month inventory at 272,336 kb — equivalent to 115.5 days of net imports. >90% Middle East dependence is structural, not cyclical. Inventory is 131% higher than Korea’s — the highest in Northeast Asia. No import contraction observed; no buying window open. Neutral stance held.

SOMO’s November Asia OSP for Basrah Medium and Heavy remains at -2.80 and -5.80 USD/bbl respectively; net delivered discounts have deepened notably, with Heavy offering stronger relative value. Brent front-month settled at 110.122 USD/bbl on 2026-10-29 (-1.36%), while Hormuz Strait passage data has been unavailable since 2026-03-01 per IMF PortWatch.

As of Oct 29, public market data shows Brent at USD 110.12/bbl (-1.36%) and WTI at USD 101.51/bbl (-1.24%); the Iran–Saudi–Turkey–Pakistan high-level security talks eased diplomatic risk premium. SOMO’s November Asia OSP for Basrah Medium is -2.80 USD/bbl and for Basrah Heavy is -5.80 USD/bbl (OSP is official pricing published by SOMO; JODI does not cover OSP, but SOMO’s OSP is policy-based and publicly issued).