Japan Imports Spike Up in Oct'24 to compensate weak Sept

Japan's imports increased sharply in Oct'24 to 31mmcf up 167% m/m and 58% over the LTM average; however, YTD to Oct'24, imports are still down by 8% y/y.

However, Sep'24 saw a steep drop, which is likely a delay in transportation or in accounting for the cargoes. For Sep-Oct ’24 combined total volumes are +3% y/y. The main increase comes from Qatar where volumes increased ~90% in Oct'24 to 19mmcf vs the LTM average of 10mmcf. YTD, the Japanese market shows weak demand, with average monthly helium imports at 20mmcf, down 8% y/y. This is in line with Asia's demand trend where volumes have been weaker since Q2'24 but we are seeing some recovery in Q4'24 and expect the market to rebound over the next year, largely on the back of a recovery in the semi-conductor industry.

LHS: Japan's helium imports (mmcf) vs RHS: Japan's helium pricing (US$/mcf)