Japan's LPG demand is expected to fall with the government's state of emergency to curb its coronavirus outbreak and the slowdown in the country's economic activity.
The state of emergency declaration allows authorities in Tokyo and 6 other prefectures to require commercial consumers of LPG to halt operations. It imposes a tougher restriction on residents' movements, largely confining them to their homes from 8 April until 6 May.
If a lockdown was imposed on Japan's main cities, the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) previously forecast operations at restaurants and hotels to fall by 80 percent and by 50 percent respectively.
However, household consumption could rise with the increasing number of people staying at home. The use of LPG for cooking could increase by 10 percent in case of a lockdown, according to the IEEJ forecast.
The Japan LP gas association (JPLGA) also expects the government to allow gas suppliers to maintain operations. LPG suppliers have already taken precautionary measures against possible operational disruptions amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The household and commercial sectors account for most of Japan's LPG consumption. They consumed 7.4 million tonnes or 51.5 percent of the total 14.3 million tonnes consumption during 2019.
