China’s LNG imports set for summer spike

Volumes will rise along with temperatures amid rising demand and storage requirements

China’s LNG imports look set for double-digit growth this summer, shrugging off relatively high spot market prices as buyers ramp up purchases to satisfy robust gas demand and the need to refill inventories. Chinese LNG imports soared by more than one-third in April from a year ago, to 6.73mn t. This marked the second-fastest annual growth since April 2019 and the third-biggest monthly volume ever received by China, according to official customs data. The strong imports ahead of the summer demand season—when electricity consumption spikes from greater air conditioning use—have led industry analysts to revise up projections of China’s LNG imports over the second and third quarters. Gas resear