This week Reuters, reporting on preliminary data from Refinitiv, noted that in June, US exports of liquified natural gas (LNG) fell 10% month over month to 6.82 million tons, as plant maintenance and a decline in EU demand weighed on exports.

The report noted that US LNG production was impacted by planned outages at two major suppliers. When combined with the warmer than usual winter, it caused gas inventories in the US to build up, driving down prices.

In the last week of June, gas supplies to US plants were 10.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), which Rystad Energy analyst Lu Ming Pang noted was “lower than the May average of 12.3 bcfd due to planned maintenance.”

The report went on to note that as the EU nations approached their storage goals, leaving them near full storage capacity, the EU’s overall LNG imports fell last month to between 13.2 bcfd and 14.5 bcfd. The data revealed that in April, the EU had purchased 71% of US exports, and in May that had declined to 60%. However in June the EU accounted for only 47% of US exports. Asia meanwhile saw its share of US exports rise from 14% in May, up to 27% in June, as Latin America took a 17% share for June.

The outlet noted that the 6.82 million tons of US LNG that was exported in June was above the level seen last year, after a fire caused a shutdown of the Freeport LNG facility, which was the second-largest LNG producer in the US.

Analysts note that if there is no stumble in demand, it is possible exports will increase over this quarter, as gas flows pick up following the end of the US maintenance on facilities.

The demand for LNG from the EU surged last year after the war in Ukraine led to a gradual diminution of flows from Russia, which had previously been a primary source for cheap and plentiful natural gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. However subsequent sanctions, and a sabotage bombing ultimately eliminated all flows through the Nord Stream pipeline.

That forced the EU into a mad scramble to secure supplies of the super-chilled fuel, primarily from sellers in the US and Qatar, to replace the lost Russian fuel as the coming winter heating season approached.

As the EU drove up demand for LNG and prices soared, critics pointed out that poorer nations which relied on the fuel like Pakistan and Bangladesh were unable to secure enough for their citizens due to the higher prices.