US exports of LNG totaled 10.1 million tons through February 2020, up 105% from the first two months of 2019. The drop in volume in February was due in large part to much slower shipments to Korea: 315,000 tons in February versus nearly 900,000 tons per month in both December and January.

US also shipped lower volumes in February to Turkey, UK, Japan and Spain. These declines were partly offset by increased shipments to France, Italy, Belgium and others.

China has resumed buying US LNG, granting waivers of the 25% tariff to a number of Chinese importers. These cargoes will likely be visible in US export figures in March or April. This currently appears to be a short-term commitment, part of China’s agreement under Phase I to buy $50 B of US energy products.

As of February 2020, China imported 11.1 million tons of LNG, up 2% from last year. More than 80% of it was sourced from Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, Russia and Indonesia.

From International Trader Publications’ LNG World Trade Report, a continuously updated online analysis of global LNG trade based on statistics from over 70 countries.