Asia's LNG imports stay soft in July as Europe draws cargoes
Asia's imports of the super-chilled fuel are estimated at 22.07 million metric tons in July, up from 21.80 million in June, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.
On a per day basis July's figure is 722,000 tonnes, which is slightly down from 727,000 in June.
The soft July imports continue a trend this year of declining LNG arrivals in Asia, with the first seven months of 2025 coming in at 155.82 million tonnes, down 6.3% from the 166.22 million over the same period last year.
In contrast to Asia's declining LNG imports, Europe's have been trending higher, with the first seven months seeing arrivals of 75.61 million tonnes, up 24% from the 61.13 million for the same period in 2024, according to Kpler data.
The extra 14.48 million tonnes of LNG that has headed to Europe in the first seven months reflects the continent's efforts to refill inventories ahead of winter while continuing to shun pipeline gas from Russia.
The extra European demand has been a boon for LNG exporters as it has helped keep global prices higher, and largely prevented the usual seasonal decline in both volumes and spot prices seen in the shoulder season between the winter and summer peaks.
But the higher prices have also led to lower demand from price-sensitive buyers in Asia, especially China, the world's largest LNG importer.
China decline
China's LNG imports are on track to reach 4.96 million tonnes in July, down from 5.09 million in June and 5.92 million in July 2024, according to Kpler data.
For the first seven months of the year, China's imports are estimated by Kpler at 35.17 million tonnes, down 21.2% from the 44.64 million for the same period in 2024.
The drop in China's LNG imports also accounts for 91% of the total drop in Asia's imports in the first seven months of 2025.
The rest of the decline can largely be ascribed to India, Asia's fourth-largest LNG buyer, with imports in the January to July period estimated at 14.08 million tons, down from 16.11 million for the same period in 2024.
The decline in imports by China and India comes as spot LNG prices for delivery to North Asia remain at elevated levels.
The spot price dropped to $12.33 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the week to July 14 from $12.90 the prior week.
While this is similar to the $12.00 per mmBtu that prevailed in the same week in 2024, what is different so far in 2025 is that the lowest price so far, of $11.00 in late April, is well above the low point of $8.30 in February 2024 and $9.00 in June 2023.
The fact that spot prices didn't have their usual seasonal decline after the northern winter meant that Chinese buyers were unable to pick up cargoes at economical prices.
A spot price of above $10-$11 per mmBtu is believed to make LNG imports uncompetitive against domestic output and pipeline supplies from Russia and Central Asia.
It's also the case that China has been producing more domestic natural gas, with official data showing output rising 5.8% in the first half of 2025 to the equivalent of 96.8 million tons, an increase of about 5 million tons.
Pipeline imports have also increased by about 6%, or 3 million tons.
However, the combined rise in domestic output and pipeline imports is still below the decline of nearly 9.5 million tons in LNG imports, suggesting that the high LNG spot price is acting to reduce demand.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
9 hours ago
- Gulf Today
China seeks reduction of US tariffs and tech export controls
US and Chinese officials began a second day of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday to resolve longstanding economic disputes and step back from an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The meetings may not yield immediate large breakthroughs but the two sides could agree to another 90-day extension of a tariff truce struck in mid-May. It may also pave the way for a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the year, though Trump on Tuesday denied going out of his way to seek one. The delegations met for more than five hours on Monday at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen arriving at Rosenbad on Tuesday morning after a separate meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng also arrived at the venue. Neither side made statements after the first day of talks. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration, after reaching preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. The Stockholm talks follow Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15 per cent tariff on most EU goods exports to the United States, and a deal with Japan. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the United States had paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Xi this year. Trump pushed back against suggestions he was seeking a meeting with Xi. 'This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything! I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!' he wrote on Truth Social. Meanwhile, in Washington, US senators from both major parties plan to introduce bills this week targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents, and Taiwan, emphasizing security and human rights, which could complicate the talks in Stockholm. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is also set to delay an August trip his team had floated to the Trump administration that would have included stops in the United States, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The potential visit would have infuriated Beijing, possibly derailing the trade talks. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taiwan rejects, and denounces any show of support for Taipei from Washington. Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's H20 AI chips, and other goods halted by the United States. Among broader economic issues, Washington complains that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, while Beijing says US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption − a decades-long goal for US policymakers. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on US industries. China stocks ended higher on Tuesday as a new round of Sino-US trade talks continued, while the Hong Kong benchmark declined with some investors booking profits near the month-end. China's blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index reversed morning session's losses, closing up 0.39 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng dropped 0.34 per cent, while Hang Seng Tech fell 0.35 per cent. Market sentiment cooled slightly as investors awaited details from the ongoing US-China trade talks that started on Monday in Stockholm. China faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement; both China and US are expected to push for an extension of the trade truce. 'A truce extension would calm markets... a confrontational tone or vague outcomes could reignite fears of renewed tariffs down the line, resulting in a risk-off sentiment,' Charu Chanana, Saxo chief investment strategist, said in a note on Tuesday. Reuters
Al Etihad
9 hours ago
- Al Etihad
IMF lifts 2025 growth forecast on 'fragile' easing in trade tensions
29 July 2025 18:21 WASHINGTON (AFP)The IMF raised its global growth forecast Tuesday as efforts to circumvent US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs sparked a bigger-than-expected surge in International Monetary Fund still sees growth slowing this year, however, even as it lifted its 2025 projection to 3.0 percent -- up from 2.8 percent in April -- in its World Economic Outlook 2024, global growth came in at 3.3 ahead, the IMF expects the world economy to expand 3.1 percent next year, an improvement from the 3.0 percent it earlier the upward revisions, "there are reasons to be very cautious," IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told AFP."Businesses were trying to frontload, move stuff around, before the tariffs were imposed, and so that's supporting economic activity," he said."There is going to be payback for that. If you stock the shelves now, you don't need to stock them later in the year or into the next year," he means a likelihood of reduced trade activity in the second half of the year and into imposed a 10 percent levy on almost all trading partners this year, alongside steeper duties on autos, steel, and paused higher tariffs on dozens of economies until August 1, a significant delay from April when they were first and Beijing also agreed to lower for 90 days triple-digit duties on each other's goods, in a halt expiring August 12. Talks that could lead to a further extension of the truce are actions have brought the US effective tariff rate to 17.3 percent, significantly above the 3.5 percent level for the rest of the world, the IMF said. If deals unravel or tariffs rebound to higher levels, global output would be 0.3 percent down next year, Gourinchas said. Growth FiguresUS growth for 2025 was revised 0.1 percentage points up, to 1.9 percent, with tariffs anticipated to settle at lower levels than initially announced in country is also set to see a near-term boost from Trump's flagship tax and spending area growth was adjusted 0.2 percentage points higher to 1.0 percent, partly reflecting a jump in Irish pharmaceutical exports to the United States to avoid fresh European economies, Germany is still expected to avoid contraction while forecasts for France and Spain remained unchanged at 0.6 percent and 2.5 percent the IMF anticipates global inflation to keep declining, with headline inflation cooling to 4.2 percent this year, it warned that US price increases will remain above in the world's number-two economy China, however, was revised 0.8 percentage points upwards to 4.8 reflects stronger-than-expected activity in the first half of 2025, alongside "the significant reduction in US-China tariffs," the IMF said. Russia's growth was revised 0.6 percentage points down, to 0.9 percent, partially due to Russian policies but also oil prices, which are set to remain relatively subdued compared with 2024 levels, Gourinchas said.
Zawya
11 hours ago
- Zawya
Italy to tell EU terms for UniCredit's BPM bid remain despite deal collapse
ROME - Italy will tell the European Union the terms it imposed on UniCredit's bid for Banco BPM remain in place even after the collapse of the deal, sources said, responding to criticism from Brussels that could ultimately lead to disciplinary steps. UniCredit withdrew its offer for BPM on July 22, blaming government intervention for scuppering the 15 billion-euro ($17.3 billion) transaction. Days earlier, the European Commission warned Italy that it could have breached EU rules by using its so-called golden powers aimed at shielding key assets to rein in UniCredit's takeover plans, giving Rome 20 working days to reply to its objections. Italy will send a letter of reply to Brussels as early as this week which will invoke national security considerations for the use of the golden powers, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The European Commission was not immediately available for comment. In the letter Italy will also say it has no plans to withdraw the decree that set the conditions for the collapsed deal, arguing that their legitimacy was largely upheld by an Italian court ruling this month, the sources added. Among several conditions, Italy told UniCredit it had to halt activities in Russia, except for payments to Western companies, by early 2026, to prevent savings collected by Banco BPM from benefiting Moscow's economy as it continues its war against Ukraine. The court ruling due to be referenced in the letter to Brussels axed some of the terms imposed by the government, but upheld the Russia-related conditions. Italy also asked UniCredit to keep investments in Italian securities of BPM-owned fund manager Anima Holding, a provision that UniCredit said the court had made non-mandatory. While the EU said corporate mergers should be vetted at the EU level to prevent member states taking unjustified measures in their regard, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti argued national security was not for European institutions to judge. Should the government fail to persuade the European Commission that its use of the golden power rules was justified, Brussels could adopt a decision ordering it to revoke the conditions. Italy's use of its 'golden power' legislation is also under EU scrutiny in a separate process called EU Pilot. ($1 = 0.8672 euros)
