China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports rose in October compared to the same month last year, according to customs data.
Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the country received about 5.17 million tonnes in October, a rise of 29.5 percent compared to the same month last year.
LNG imports in October dropped compared to 5.69 million tonnes in September. The country’s imports in September declined after rising for seven months in a row.
China imported 56.25 million tonnes of LNG during January-October, up by 11.5 percent compared to the same period last year, the data shows.
However, Chinese LNG imports fell last year due to due to very high spot LNG prices and Covid lockdowns, which affected economic activity.
LNG imports dropped compared to the January-October period in 2021 when China imported 64.50 million tonnes of LNG.
Including pipeline gas, China’s gas imports rose by 8.8 percent year-on-year to 96.50 million tonnes in January-October.
The country’s pipeline gas imports rose by 1.2 percent in October to 3.62 million tonnes, the data shows.
World’s largest LNG importer
Japan was the world’s top liquefied natural gas importer in 2022, overtaking China, but both of the countries took fewer volumes when compared to the year before.
However, China has overtaken Japan this year.
Japan’s LNG imports rose by 6.4 percent year-on-year in October to about 5.41 million tonnes
During the January-October period, Japan imported some 54.3 million tonnes, down by about 1.9 million tonnes compared to China’s 56.2 million tonnes.
