Winter weather has driven heating demand in China higher and with it, LNG prices, Bloomberg has reported, citing prices of 4,001 yuan ($574) per ton of LNG this Monday, up from 3,998 yuan ($573.70) per ton on Friday.
The cold spell, which is forecast to extend into February, has thus reversed a price slide that began towards the end of 2025, the report said, citing LNG price data from the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange.
China recorded a 12-month stretch of lower LNG imports amid surging domestic production and higher pipeline imports until November last year. Earlier in the year, domestic gas production hit an all-time high, bringing LNG imports to the lowest in six years, down by 19% on the year over the first seven months of 2025. The decline was partially driven by a record year for gas imports in 2024 as China sought to fill its inventories to be ready for winter.
Since mid-2025, the decline in LNG imports continued, prompting forecasters to predict weaker imports throughout the year. The start of winter, however, saw the declines reverse, with the December total estimated to have hit 7.17 million tons, according to Kpler.
Now, Bloomberg reports that Chinese meteorologists are warning of a “rare coldness” gripping much of the country this week. In some parts, temperatures could plummet by as much as 16 degrees Celsius, or 29 degrees Fahrenheit.
An earlier report from Bloomberg this month predicted higher Chinese LNG imports due to colder-than-usual winter weather, citing meteorological forecasts about temperatures dropping 6 degrees Celsius below the average for this time of the year.
Despite the seasonal uptick in imports of liquefied gas, analysts still predict that China’s total LNG imports this year will weaken further from last year, although at a slower rate, of 9% versus 12% for 2025.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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