EU LNG imports fall 18% YOY in June amid sustained wartime strains: CERA in Freight News 03/07/2026 LNG imports into the EU fell year over year for the third consecutive month in June, according to data from S&P Global Energy CERA, as the persistent loss of production from the Persian Gulf continued to weigh on global trade and strain Europe’s gas sourcing. The EU imported about 7.5 million metric tons of the fuel (equivalent to about 10.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas) in June, down about 18% year over year, CERA data showed. The June downturn marks a sharp increase in the year-over-year shortfall in monthly EU imports that has emerged since the outbreak of the Iran war. Persian Gulf LNG exports that had already cleared the Strait of Hormuz shortly before the war began helped ensure that March imports outpaced those seen the prior year. Since then, however, the EU’s monthly intake of LNG has lagged 2025 volumes. April 2026 imports were some 620,000 mt lower than those in April 2025, and May 2026 trade was 810,000 mt lower than May 2025, according to the latest CERA data. Despite the recent declines, however, elevated trade early in the year enabled total EU LNG imports so far across 2026 to come in roughly even with those across the first six months of 2025, at 53.7 million mt. JKM-NWE spread The widening monthly deficit emerging in the recent data underscores Europe’s vulnerability to disruptions in the global LNG market. Even though CERA figures show the EU only sourced about 8.2% of its LNG imports from the Persian Gulf in 2025 — all from Qatar — the sustained loss of about 20% of global LNG exports with the lower maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ratcheted up cross-basin competition for the remaining volumes. The Platts JKM benchmark for LNG delivered into Northeast Asia has exceeded the Platts DES Northwest Europe LNG benchmark by an average of $2.16/million British thermal unit since late March. By comparison, at the start of 2026, the A