Japan's LNG imports drop 20% in May

According to provisional data released by Japan's finance ministry on June 16, the country's LNG imports in May were 4.61mn metric tons, marking a 19.9% decline compared with the same period last year.

On a month/month basis, imports were up 1.7%. The data further revealed that Japan's LNG imports cost 412.77bn yen ($3bn) in May, representing a significant 31.6% decrease year/year.

In 2022, Japan surpassed China to reclaim its position as the world's largest LNG importer. Its LNG imports for the year stood at 71.99mn mt, down 3.1% year/year.