Japan buys 25,000 tonnes of LPG for reserves
TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - Japan has bought a partial 25,000 tonne cargo of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from trading house Itochu Corp (8001.T) to store in its national reserves, an industry source said on Monday.
State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) bought about 14,500 tonnes of propane and about 10,500 tonnes of butane at a premium of $43 a tonne to Saudi Aramco's June contract prices, the source said.
JOGMEC said last month it was seeking 15,800 tonnes of LPG for the Nanao storage facility in Ishikawa Prefecture and the remaining 9,200 tonnes for the Fukushima storage facility in Nagasaki Prefecture.
The two facilities, which were built in 2005, will be at near-capacity after the purchases.
The cargo will be delivered between July 1 and Aug. 10, the source said.
State-run Saudi Aramco has set its June contract price for propane at a record-high $895 a tonne, up $50 from May. The company also raised its June butane price by $60 from May to an all-time high of $920 a tonne. [ID:nT235209] (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)
