Europe Continues Reducing LNG Imports for Third Consecutive Month

Europe witnessed a decline in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in June 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly drop since reaching a record level in March 2026. This decrease is based on recent data released by the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) association. According to these figures, the volume of LNG delivered from terminals to the European Union's gas transmission network in June fell to approximately 10.2 billion cubic meters, compared to about 11.23 billion cubic meters in the preceding month of May. This represents a 9.2% decrease between the two months. Europe's LNG imports had previously seen a significant increase of 10.6% in March 2026 compared to February of the same year, reaching a record high of 13.6 billion cubic meters. Since then, delivered volumes began to decline, dropping by 7% in April 2026 compared to March, then falling by 11% in May 2026 compared to April, and the reduction continued with a 9.2% decrease in June 2026 compared to May. In a related context, the Council of the European Union approved a regulation last January aimed at phasing out Russian LNG and pipeline gas imports. The ban on short-term LNG contracts took effect on April 25, 2026, while the ban under long-term contracts is set to commence on January 1, 2027.