Japan weather seen warmer in Oct to Dec: forecaster

Reuters: Japan will see mostly warmer weather from October to December, after having had higher-than-average temperatures since August, the official forecaster said on Tuesday.

Japan's four regions each stand a 40 percent chance of having warmer-than-average weather in the last quarter of the year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in its monthly three-month outlook.

A mild start to the winter season usually slashes kerosene demand. Demand for kerosene usually peaks around January. The forecaster's data showed that the 30-year average of peak temperatures in the capital Tokyo was 26.8 Celsius (80 Fahrenheit) in September, 21.6 C in October, 16.7 C in November and 12.3 C in December.

Japan has seen mostly hotter temperatures since early August, boosting electricity demand at several utilities to record-high levels amid a heat wave and high humidity. Japan's 10 electric utilities generated a record-high 96.2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in August, surpassing the previous high of 93.41 billion kWh hit a year earlier, industry data showed.