Japan's major power utilities maintained higher-than-average LNG inventories through the New Year holidays, even as stock withdrawals picked up.
Utilities held 2.3mn t of LNG stocks on 4 January, down by 5.3pc from a week earlier, according to a weekly survey by the trade and industry ministry Meti. But this was 23pc higher than the 1.87mn t recorded on 5 January 2025 and 12.2pc above the end-January average of 2.05mn t over 2021-25.
Japanese power demand fell by 15pc on the week to an average of 90GW across 29 December-4 January, as power consumption particularly in business and industrial sectors declined over the holiday period, which typically runs from 27 December to 4 January this year. Demand in the Chubu region — a manufacturing hub for Japanese auto producer Toyota — plunged by 22pc, the largest drop among the country's 10 service areas, from the previous week to 12GW.
Weaker power demand reduced the country's gas-fired generation by 24pc from a week earlier to an average of 26GW during the week to 4 January. Coal- and oil-fired output also fell by 20pc to 26GW and by 25pc to 373GW, respectively.
The week-on-week decline in LNG stocks, despite lower gas-fired utilization, suggests utilities received less LNG than they consumed during the holidays. Japan discharged only 631,780t of LNG over 29 December-4 January, down from 1.16mn t a week earlier, according to data from oil analytics firm Vortexa.
