Japan's LNG Imports in May Drop 19%

Japan’s LNG imports in May saw a steep decline as the coronavirus outbreak hit demand for the commodity. 

The country's imports last month stood at 4.51mn metric tons, down 18.9% yr/yr, according to the provisional data released by the country’s finance ministry on June 17.

Imports were also down month-on-month from 5.13mn mt in April. Despite the declining trend in imports in recent months, Japan remains the world's biggest LNG importer. For the 12 months to March 31 (fiscal 2019-2020), the country imported 76.5mn mt of LNG, down 5% yr/yr.