China's LNG imports drop 34% in October

Chinese LNG imports in October declined 34% year/year to 4.03mn metric tons, customs department data published on November 18 showed.

The cumulative LNG imports in the first 10 months of 2022 came in at 50.51mn mt, down 21.6% yr/yr. China’s pipeline gas imports last month rose 11.5% yr/yr to 3.58mn mt, the data showed. The pipeline gas import volumes during the January-October period were up 10.6% yr/yr to 38.23mn mt.

China last year imported a record 78.93mn mt of LNG, up 18.3% yr/yr, customs department data published in January showed. This year, the imports have been lower as high global LNG prices and Covid related lockdowns have hit domestic gas demand.