China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports dropped by 20.2 percent in the January-September period of this year, according to customs data.
Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the country received about 46.51 million tonnes in the period under review, compared to about 58.48 million tonnes last year.
China’s LNG imports dropped this year mainly due to very high spot LNG prices and Covid lockdowns, which affected economic activity.
In September, China took some 5.90 million tonnes of LNG, down 11.6 percent when compared to the same month last year.
September imports rose when compared to the prior month’s 4.72 million tonnes.
On the other hand, China’s pipeline gas imports increased in January-September.
Pipeline imports rose by 10.5 percent to 34.66 million tonnes, while in September these imports increased by 9.8 percent to 4.25 million tonnes, the data said.
China became the world’s largest LNG importer last year, overtaking Japan, but the latter regained the title this year.
During the January-September period, Japan imported some 55.27 million tonnes of LNG, or about 8.7 million tonnes more than China.
China’s September LNG imports of 5.90 million tonnes were higher compared to Japan’s as the latter’s imports dropped by 1.6 percent year-on-year in September to about 5.32 million tonnes.