Letter from China: Appetite for gas shrinks

Even potential government stimulus measures might not be enough to bolster demand

This year so far has been challenging for China’s gas market and looks likely to remain so over the final quarter. Attention is now shifting to the demand outlook for 2023 as Beijing considers the next stage of its zero-Covid strategy, but there is little relief in sight. While China’s commitment to gas is undiminished, the slowdown in domestic demand has been obvious since the middle of last year. While apparent consumption climbed by 12.5pc in 2021, much of this growth was concentrated in the first six months, which logged a 17.4pc year-on-year increase as the economy bounced back from the initial Covid epidemic. The slowdown in H2 2021 has carried into this year, with apparent consumption