China Re-Exports Record Monthly Volume of LNG on Weak Demand

(Bloomberg) -- China has re-exported more than 280,000 tons of liquefied natural gas so far in April, the highest volume ever in a single month, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

That is equivalent to 7.7% of total imports for the month, the data shows. The high volume of re-exports is likely spurred by weak domestic demand, as a mild winter and robust inventories mean that China is not in any dire need for the super-chilled fuel. The nation may also benefit from higher prices abroad. 

Meanwhile, imports of the fuel are also set to fall this month, extending a slump in buying activity for a sixth month.

Exporting shipments from Chinese ports is rare but the nation has leaned into the practice since November, with the volume increasing from the start of the year, according to Bloomberg data. Prior to November, the last time the country re-exported shipments was in January 2024.

Kpler, an analytics firm that tracks ship data, shows that China exported about 160,000 tons in April.

The resales could provide relief to buyers elsewhere, especially importers in Europe who are looking to refill inventories and replace the loss of Russian pipeline deliveries. 

Importers in China had earlier diverted most of their contracted LNG from the US to Europe in search of higher profits amid weak domestic demand and punitive tariffs on American fuel. 

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• A total of 12 LNG ballast vessels are waiting near the Bintulu plant in Malaysia, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, as exports from the facility rise after an outage

Drivers: 

• European natural gas prices broadly held last week’s decline as demand for supplies of tanker-borne fuel continued to waver in Asia, leaving more available for other buyers
• Estimated flows to all US export terminals were ~15.6 bcf/day on April 27, +0.5% w/w: BNEF
• China’s 30-day moving average for LNG imports was 137k tons/day on April 24, 38% lower than this time last year, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg
• European gas storage levels were ~38% full on April 26, compared with the five-year seasonal average of ~49%

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(Updates with LNG wrap details.)

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