China’s natural gas imports, comprising LNG and pipeline gas, increased 3.3% year on year to 9.455 million mt in November, preliminary data released Sunday by the General Administration of Customs showed. However, the 3.3% growth is a significant slowdown from the year-on-year growth rate of nearly 40% posted in November 2018, official data showed. Market sources attributed the decline in the growth rate to a combination of a slowing economy, and a relaxation of the coal-to-gas switching policies this year. China’s total natural gas imports were 87.113 million mt over the January-November period, up 7.4% from 81.140 million mt in the same period last year, according to the customs data. In comparison, Chinese gas imports grew at a rate of 33% year on year over January-November 2018, historical data showed. China’s gross domestic product growth rate continued to slow in the third quarter at 6%, compared with 6.4% […]