After dropping sharply in April, India's LNG receipts edged up in May from a year earlier. However, import growth was down from previous months as gas demand remained low.
LNG imports rose by 0.5 percent to 2.38 billion m³ of pipeline gas equivalent in May from 2.37 billion m³ a year earlier. Receipts also rose from 1.95 billion m³ in April, when stricter lockdown measures were in place, down from 2.76 billion m³ a year earlier.
Driven partly by increased spot purchases because of low spot LNG prices, imports in the April 2019-March 2020 fiscal year rose by 17 percent on the year to 33.7 billion m³.
The value of LNG imports fell to $500 million last month from $700 million a year earlier. India's import dependency, based on gas consumption, rose to 51.8 percent in May from 47.1 percent a year earlier. Demand started to recover in mid-May after the government eased restrictions on businesses and offices, and the country's lockdown is planned to end on 30 June with "containment zones" under strict restrictions until then.
