Kpler expects continued slowdown in China's LNG imports in April amid weaker demand

Kpler projects that China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports will decline by over 20% year-over-year through April. This will mark the sixth consecutive monthly decline.

The company expects China to purchase 4.9 million tons of LNG from abroad during this period. LNG supply to China has already decreased by more than 20% this year, and demand has lagged behind Japan's for the past few months.

According to Bloomberg, China's reduced LNG imports favor European buyers seeking to replenish energy stocks and compensate for lost supplies through Russian pipelines. However, this development also undermines forecasts for LNG demand growth, which has previously fueled billions of dollars of investment in industry projects around the world.

BloombergNEF expects China's LNG purchases to decline this year for the first time since 2022. Meanwhile, domestic production of the fuel and imports of pipeline gas, mainly from Russia, remain high.