BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20. In June 2025, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the Asia Pacific region totaled 21.93 million tons (Mt), reflecting a slight year-on-year decline of 0.7% (0.16 Mt), according to the latest forecast from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Trend reports.
While this marks a continued downward trend, the decrease was less steep compared to earlier months in 2025.
The decline in the region’s LNG imports was largely driven by reductions in key markets such as China, India, and Thailand. China’s imports fell amid a combination of rising domestic gas production, increased pipeline imports, subdued gas demand, and persistently high spot LNG prices. India and Thailand also registered lower LNG volumes, impacted by an early monsoon season that reduced cooling needs, with India additionally challenged by elevated spot prices limiting demand.
Conversely, LNG imports rose in Bangladesh, Japan, and Taiwan, partially offsetting the regional decrease. Bangladesh benefited from the operation of two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) this year, compared to only one in the previous year. Japan’s imports grew on stronger power sector demand and pre-summer LNG restocking activities. Taiwan’s increase was linked to higher gas consumption in the power sector, driven by the country’s ongoing nuclear phase-out.
For the first half of 2025, the Asia Pacific region’s LNG imports declined by 5.0% year-on-year, falling by 7.03 Mt to 132.97 Mt.
In contrast to the regional trends, global LNG imports experienced robust growth in June 2025, surging 9.4% (3.00 Mt) year-on-year to reach 34.84 Mt — the strongest annual increase since November 2022. This global uptick was primarily driven by heightened demand in Europe and, to a lesser extent, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which offset weaker imports in other parts of the world.
Price dynamics played a key role in shaping LNG flows. Despite the Asia spot LNG price maintaining a premium over the month-ahead Title Transfer Facility (TTF) price in Europe, the netback price for U.S. LNG deliveries into Europe remained higher than that for Asia Pacific. This price advantage supported a continued influx of U.S. LNG shipments to European markets.
Over the first half of 2025, global LNG imports grew by 4.1% year-on-year, adding 8.43 Mt to reach a total of 214.57 Mt, bolstered predominantly by stronger European demand.
