emirates7 - South Korea's imports of crude oil from the Middle East slipped 37% in April from a year earlier amid prolonged geopolitical tensions in the region, data showed Sunday.

According to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and published by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's total crude imports came to 8.46 million tonnes in April, down 22.8% from a year earlier.

Imports from the Middle East fell 37.3% on-year to 4.49 million tonnes in April, accounting for 53.1% of the total. The figure marks a 12.1 percentage-point from 65.2% tallied a year earlier.

Imports from Saudi Arabia, the biggest supplier, fell 37.6% on-year in April to 2.14 million tonnes, the KITA data showed.