China’s LNG Imports Recover Ahead of Peak Cooling Season
$90 Oil Could Lift India’s Inflation to 4.8% and Slow GDP Growth Colombia’s 2026 presidential election is… Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry.
China imported 4.9 million tons of liquefied natural gas last month, a slight increase on an annual basis, Bloombergreportedtoday, citing shipping data.
The rebound comes ahead of a likely jump in electricity demand over the summer as air-conditioning demand rises.
The May figure is also a reversal of import trends from the previous few months, which booked a series of declines amid crimped supply from the Middle East that led to significantly higher prices, dampening importers’ appetite and greater use of coal for power generation.
China’s April LNG imports were the lowest since 2018, Bloomberg noted in its report.
In that month, China imported just 3.5 million tons, down 30% on the year, data from Kplershowedlast month.
That was less than half the December 2025 total, reflecting the change in the supply context for liquefied gas.
The war in the Middle East took out a quarter of global LNG capacity, pushing prices significantly higher, pricing poorer importers out of the market.
As a result, overall Asian imports of liquefied gas dropped in March to the lowest in seven years, by 4.3% on the year, to 21.12 million tons, according to data from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
As much as 80% of the liquefied natural gas produced in the Persian Gulf goes to Asian buyers.
Unlike other big Asian LNG importers, China is relatively insulated from major supply shocks thanks to its abundant pipeline gas supply—which is also cheaper than LNG—and its unshakeable reliance on coal despite its transformation into the world’s biggest solar and wind energy market.
According to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, if the war continues long enough, the LNG market will suffer structural damage.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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