Japanese LNG imports rise following two-month drop

Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have slightly risen again in July after a two-month drop.

According to the provisional data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance, a total of 6.82 million tons of the chilled fuel were imported into Japan during the month under review, 0.1 percent above the amount imported in July 2018.

The value of July LNG imports was about $3.41 billion, sliding 6.0 percent on year.

The data shows that imports of US LNG slipped by 11.3 percent, reaching 211,000 tonnes. Imports from Asian sources such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Brunei rose 0.1 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2018, reaching 1.48 million tonnes.

Imports of liquefied natural gas from the Middle East were 24.5 percent below the corresponding month in 2018 while LNG imports from Russia jumped 14.9.

The country’s coal imports for power generation stands at 10.37 million tonnes, some 29 percent more than in June, and 5.7 percent higher than in July 2018.