China’s LNG imports continued to rise in July on the back of high demand from the power generation and industrial sectors.
The country imported 5.67 million tonnes of LNG last month, a rise of 13.7 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
However, imports dropped when compared to June when China received 6.72 million tonnes of LNG.
In the January-July period, China imported 45.25 million tonnes of the fuel, the data said.
This marked a year-on-year rise of 25.3 percent when compared to the same period in 2020.
Moreover, China’s pipeline gas imports surged by 58.5 percent to 3.67 million tonnes in July.
These imports rose by 21.6 percent in the January-July period reaching about 23.71 million tonnes.
China’s LNG imports hit an all-time high last year rising 11.5 percent when compared to the year before.
The world’s top energy consumer imported 67.13 million tonnes in 2020, cementing its position as the second-largest LNG importer, after Japan.
Boosted by strong demand, China is expected to overtake Japan as the world’s top LNG importer this year.
The country has already imported more LNG than Japan in the first six months of this year.