China’s LNG imports down in October

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the country received 5.76 million tonnes last month.

Imports were almost flat compared to 5.75 million tonnes in the prior month, which marked a decrease of 14.7 percent year-on-year.

During January-October this year, China imported 53.15 million tonnes of LNG, a decrease of 16.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Natural gas imports, including pipeline gas, reached 9.77 million tonnes in October.

China’s pipeline imports rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in October to 4.01 million tonnes, the data shows.

China’s natural gas imports rose by 9.9 percent to 131.69 million tonnes in 2024, the customs data previously showed, while LNG imports increased by 7.7 percent to 76.65 million tonnes last year, with China remaining the world’s largest LNG importer.

Japan was the world’s second-largest importer of LNG last year.

However, Japan overtook China this year as the world’s biggest LNG importer.

During January-September this year, China imported 47.44 million tonnes of LNG, and Japan imported about 0.47 million tonnes more than China during the period.

Japan has not yet released official data for LNG imports in October.