UPDATE 1-S.Korea says Oct crude imports up 6.3 pct y/y

* October crude runs at 71.76 mln bbls, down 2.9 pct on year

* Oil product demand at 66.27 mln bbls, up 9.9 pct on year

* End-Oct oil stocks at 67.83 mln bbls, up 9.9 pct on year (Adds details)

SEOUL, Nov 20 - October crude imports by South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, were up 6.3 percent from a year earlier as importers pushed for clearance, state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Friday.

Yet, lower crude runs and higher inventories in the month showed the rise in the oil imports was not enough to signal economic recovery, an analyst at KNOC said.

"In October those delayed barrels were passed for clearance, helping the rise in the crude imports," said the analyst who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issues. "I think it's too early to say that the economy has recovered to consume more oil, considering lower crude runs and higher inventories."

South Korea's four refiners -- SK Energy <096770.KS>, GS Caltex, S-Oil Corp <010950.KS> and Hyundai Oilbank -- and KNOC imported 75.23 million barrels of crude (2.427 million barrels per day) in October, compared with 70.75 million barrels (2.282 million bpd) in the previous year.

KNOC noted that domestic oil product demand in October was also up 9.9 percent at 66.27 million barrels from a year earlier, when some petrochemical makers shut down their naphtha crackers for maintenance.

South Korea's private oil stocks at the end of October surged 9.9 percent to 67.83 million barrels from a year earlier, as crude oil inventories jumped 61.4 percent to 15.138 million barrels year on year.

The rise in crude inventories can be attributed to the fact that the country's October crude runs declined by 2.9 percent to 71.76 million barrels year on year.

Of South Korea's total primary energy consumption, oil products account for 45 percent, liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 15 percent and coal for 25 percent.

South Korea, the world's second-largest LNG buyer after Japan, imported 2.48 million tonnes of LNG in October, up 37 percent from 1.81 million tonnes a year earlier, helped by demand from local utilities, after falling for the past nine months through September, customs data showed earlier the week.

Imports of heating coal in October also rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier, as South Korea imported 8.83 million tonnes of coal in October, up from 7.92 million tonnes a year earlier, customs data said. [ID:nSP277724]

For detailed figures, click for table: [ID:nSEO308683]

For a graphic, please click:

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/KR_CRDINV1109.gif (Reporting by Cho Mee-young and Shin Jieun; Editing by Chris Lewis) (