GLNG: China flirts with record LNG imports for 2024

China reported another strong month of LNG imports in April, with the East Asian country importing 6.22mn tonnes of LNG during the month, according to data from Chinese Customs.

The figure represents a rise of over 30% compared with the same month last year, when Chinese importers purchased 4.77mn tonnes of the super-chilled fuel.

April’s high imports continue a trend in 2024, with March seeing imports of 6.65mn tonnes, and the country recording a record high for the month of February when it imported 5.5mn tonnes.

Altogether in the first 4 months of 2024, China has imported 25.91mn tonnes of the super-cooled gas. At its current rate, China is on pace to import about 77mn tonnes, meaning that a slight uptick in imports over the remainder of the year could see it surpass the record 78.8mn tonnes it imported in 2021.