China's LNG imports are set to fall 18% in August from a year earlier, ending three months of growth as record-high Asian spot prices push price-sensitive buyers out of the market. Qatar's extended force majeure on deliveries is tightening supply further just as winter demand approaches.
China's liquefied natural gas imports are on track to slump 18% in August from a year earlier, breaking a three-month streak of rising purchases, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. High prices are pushing price-sensitive industrial buyers out of the market.
Asian spot prices near four-year highs
The average price of spot LNG for delivery into Asia nearly doubled this month from a year earlier, as global gas markets tighten amid intense competition between Asia and Europe for supply not trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz. Asian LNG averaged $21 per MMBtu in August 2026, compared with just $12 per MMBtu in the same month last year.
Spot prices in Asia hit a five-month high of $23.388 per MMBtu last week and have been hovering near four-year highs. Supply has tightened since Qatari term deliveries stopped after the Iran war began, and Asian utilities have been outbidding Europe for cargoes as the pool of Middle East supply shrinks. Other producers cannot fully offset that gap with higher output.
Qatar extends force majeure through early November
Reports from Friday showed that state-owned QatarEnergy has extended its force majeure on LNG deliveries through October and early November. The move deepens concerns about global natural gas supply just ahead of the winter heating season.
Chinese demand recovery stalls
China had increased its LNG imports for a second straight month in June. Purchases began recovering in May from an eight-year low, after buyers started buying more cargoes in mid-April and kept up a high pace of imports since then. But the run of higher purchases is now reversing: China's imports are set to fall to about 5.2 million tons in August, according to Kpler estimates cited by Bloomberg.
Source: Investing.com (Commodities Analysis & Opinion)
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