China eyes Iranian LPG option

Loss of US shipments of key petrochemical feedstock could see Beijing look to Tehran with tariffs set to upend global LPG flows

China could turn to Iran to cover the loss of LPG shipments from the US, after sky-high tariffs imposed by Beijing on all American goods last week effectively closed the burgeoning LPG trade route between the US Gulf Coast and China for the second time in less than seven years.  LPG, a hydrocarbon that is mainly a mix of propane and butane, is widely used in China as a key feedstock in the petrochemical industry and as a clean fuel source for cooking in the residential sector. Chinese imports of US LPG had weakened even before Beijing expanded its retaliatory tariffs last week to cover all US goods—including the fuel—and hiked them from 84% to a trade-collapsing 125%.  Chinese LPG buyers hav