China's February LNG Imports Up 10%

China imported 4.35mn metric tons of LNG in February, up 9.7% year-on-year, customs department’s data published March 23 showed.

Imports were, however, down sharply month-on-month. In January, China imported record 6.58mn mt of LNG, up 27.8% year-on-year.

During the first two months of 2019, total imports were 10.92mn mt, up 19.7% on the same period last year.

This comes after the country imported record volumes of LNG in 2018 as demand for gas remained strong owing to households and industries aggressively switching for coal to gas for heating purposes.

According to customs data released January 23, Asia's biggest economy imported 53.78mn mt of LNG last year, up 41.2% on 2017.