According to the General Administration of Customs of China, in October 2020 the country ramped up import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 13%, to 6.61 million tonnes year-on-year. This brought the average LNG price up to $247 per 1,000 cubic meters, the GACC officials say.

The Asian JKM spot LNG index in October is assessed at $222 per 1,000 cubic meters. Australia, the prime supplier of LNG to China, has exported 3.606 billion cubic meters (2.755 million tonnes) of the gas within the reporting period.

In October this year, US supplies of LNG to China hit a record volume of 551 million cubic meters. This is noted to be the highest volume over the last three years. In September 2020, the volumes supplied did not exceed 373 million cubic meters. This comes after the US cancelled deliveries of LNG to China in 2019 amidst the trade war between the countries.