China's Sep LNG Imports Jump 20.1% Year on Year to 1.38 mil mt

China imported 1.38 million mt of LNG in September, up 20.1% from the same month last year, data released Thursday by the General Administration of Customs showed.

The September volume was up 26.8% from August, reversing the previous month-on-month fall, as Chinese buyers began building inventory levels ahead of winter.

Qatar was China's top LNG supplier in September, sending 612,542 mt, up 124% year on year and up 58.1% month on month.

Qatar also supplied China with its most expensive LNG at $981.24/mt ($18.87/MMBtu), down 1.3% year on year, and 7.3% lower than August.

China paid an average $658.70/mt ($10.84/MMBtu) for its September shipments, up 18.9% from the same month a year earlier, and up 16.9% from August.

China's total gas pipeline and LNG imports in September rose 15.7% from August to 2.74 million mt, or about 3.78 billion cubic meters.

September pipeline gas imports of 1.37 million mt, about 1.88 billion cubic meters, came from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. September marked the second month of imports from Uzbekistan, though volumes continued to remain relatively low at 15,244 mt for last month.