China’s natural gas consumption saw strong growth in the first four months of 2024 as the country intensified its green development efforts, official data showed. The apparent natural gas consumption in this period totaled 143.73 billion cubic meters, up 11.9 percent year-on-year. In April alone, consumption rose by 11.8 percent compared with the same period last year to total 35.46 billion cubic meters, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
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The country produced 83 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the January-April period, an increase of 5 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. China also imported 43 million tons of natural gas in the same period, up 20.7 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, China’s gasoline exports fell to their lowest since July 2015 in April, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed. Gasoline exports in April recorded 3.38 million barrels per day, a 50.8 percent annual decline and a 65 percent decline compared to March 2024. Analysts attribute the decline in exports to the rising demand for domestic travel in China, with a 28 percent increase in travel during the Labour Day holiday compared to 2019. China’s gasoline exports are likely to remain low in May, with forecasts of a 3 to 6 percent annual increase.
Customs data also showed a 46 percent monthly decline in diesel exports to 760,000 tons in April from 1.42 million tons in March. However, diesel exports rose 21.8 percent compared to April 2023.
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