China increased its purchases of liquefied natural gas in May ahead of the summer demand surge as the country's imports of the fuel saw a revival after months of decline, according to a Bloomberg analysis published Tuesday.
In May, about 4.9 million tons of LNG was delivered to China, a marginal year-on-year increase, and compares to months of year-on-year declines, the report said, citing ship tracking data.
In April, the country's LNG imports marked an eight-year low, weighed down by a spike in prices due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran conflict, the report said.
An increase in Chinese imports could further increase the squeeze on supply, with Asian and European nations competing for cargoes. Europe has fallen behind for the time being with its 30-day moving average for deliveries falling 13% compared to the year-ago period, the report said citing ship-tracking data.
Over the past year, China's LNG imports have remained weak with buyers preferring cheaper alternatives like pipeline gas, coal and renewables over the expensive super-chilled fuel. However, a spike in domestic prices has forced buyers to consider an increase in LNG imports, the report added.
has reached out to China's National Energy Administration for a comment.