Japan imported just 4.53mn tons of LNG for April, the lowest figure in at least 12 years, whilst Kpler data show volumes falling further to a mere 4.13mn tons for May for a 5M 2023 total of 27.6mn tons, down 13% year-on-year.
Having been 2.5mn tons ahead of China as the world’s top LNG importer for Q1 2023 (MEES, 19 May), Japan saw its year-to-date lead over China narrow to just 0.5mn tons as of end-May. Kpler data indicates relatively buoyant May China imports of 5.8mn tons to give a 5M 2023 total of 27.1mn tons, up 2% year-on-year. Whilst Chinese buying is broadly expected to rise for 2023, albeit with analysts cautioning a wide margin of error (MEES, 17 March), Japan is cutting buying amid the restart of mothballed nuclear plants. (CONTINUED - 320 WORDS)
