China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are set to drop in October for the first time in three years, according to a report by Bloomberg. China imported 3.8 million tons of LNG on October 1-30, according to Bloomberg calculations, dropping from 4.6 million in October 2018.
If the calculations were in line with the official data from China’s customs data, which will be published later, it would mark the first year-on-year decline in the country’s LNG imports since July 2016. The decline can be attributed to the operation halt at the Rudong LNG terminal, after being damaged by a typhoon.
Chinese LNG buyers are also expected to hold higher levels of inventory due to milder-than-usual summer this year. This lowered purchases for October-arrival cargoes for the winter demand season stockpiles.
Global LNG traders have been targeting China as demand in Japan and South Korea is expected to be stagnant or decline. China imported 53.8 million tons of LNG, almost triple its purchase in 2015. The country bought 47.2 million tons LNG this year until October 30, increasing 14% from a year earlier.
