China’s liquefied natural gas imports are on track to slump 18% in August compared to a year earlier, reversing a three-month trend of growing purchases driven by surging spot prices.
Vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows the decline is being driven by high LNG prices discouraging price-sensitive industrial consumers from making purchases.
The drop would bring China’s August LNG imports to approximately 5.2 million tons, according to Kpler estimates cited by Bloomberg.
The figure represents a sharp reversal after three consecutive months of year-over-year import growth, underlining how quickly elevated prices can erode demand in the world’s largest LNG market.
Asian LNG spot prices have nearly doubled compared to the same month last year, with the average price reaching $21 per million British thermal units in August 2026, up from just $12 per MMBtu in August 2025.
Spot LNG prices in Asia hit a five-month high of $23.388 per MMBtu last week, reflecting the intensity of competition for available supply across global markets.
Prices have been hovering at four-year highs as global gas markets continue to tighten amid fierce competition between Asian and European buyers for supply not caught behind the Strait of Hormuz.
The absence of Qatari term deliveries since the Iran war began has further constrained supply, leaving buyers increasingly dependent on a thin and expensive spot market.
The supply squeeze has created conditions where price-driven demand destruction is now an unavoidable consequence for industrial consumers operating on tight margins.
The August data, if confirmed, would signal a meaningful shift in China’s LNG procurement behavior and raise questions about whether elevated price levels will continue to suppress imports into the final months of the year.
