Asia Pacific: Trade

Northeast Asia’s LNG imports are expected to see strong annual growth in H2 following dramatic increases in China in August.

China’s LNG imports rose by 60% year on year in August 2016, to 2.3 mt. Imports in August 2015 were relatively low, at 1.4 mt, which was an 11% drop from August 2014. Growth this August was also helped by disruption to pipelines, which hit distribution networks on the east coast around Shanghai and increased the region’s LNG import requirements. Strong growth in power sector gas demand also boosted the need for LNG. China’s LNG imports are expected to rise by around 22% year on year in H2. Competitive spot and contract prices are supporting offtake in key regional markets and are expected to continue to boost growth in imports over the coming months. Chinese growth will help lift total LNG imports into Northeast Asia by around 2% on an annual basis in H2.