September 21, 2023 [LNG Prime]- China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports rose for the seventh month in a row in August, according to customs data.

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the country received about 6.30 million tonnes in August, a rise of 34.1 percent when compared to the same month last year.

LNG imports in August also rose compared to 5.86 million tonnes in July.

China imported 45.51 million tonnes of LNG during January-August, up by 12.1 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-August period in 2021 when China imported 51.81 million tonnes of LNG.

Including pipeline gas, China’s gas imports rose by 9.4 percent year-on-year to 77.70 million tonnes in the January-August period this year.

The country’s pipeline gas imports rose by 10.4 percent in August to 4.56 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 in the first half of this year.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance has not yet released its data for LNG imports in August.

The country’s LNG imports dropped by 17.4 percent year-on-year in July to about 5.09 million tonnes.

Japan imported about 37.71 million tonnes of LNG during January-July, some 1.53 million tonnes less than China.

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