BEIJING: China’s May gasoline exports fell 45.5 percent from a year earlier and diesel exports plunged 92.7 percent despite stalling domestic demand, as companies ran short of export quotas, Chinese customs data showed on Saturday.
China exported 840,000 tons of gasoline last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, down from 1.55 million tons in May 2021 and 980,000 tons in April.
Diesel exports sank to 120,000 tons from 1.68 million tons a year earlier and 530,000 tons the previous month.
LNG imports slide
China’s imports of liquefied natural gas dropped 28 percent on the year to 4.93 million tons, with year-to-date imports down 19.6 percent as consumers shied away from spot purchases in the face of hefty import costs.
Pipeline gas imports, primarily from Turkmenistan and Russia, jumped 26 percent on-year to a record 4.15 million tons, exceeding 4 million tons for only the second time after reaching that level in December.
Imports during the first five months were up 11.3 percent year-on-year to 18.42 million tons, data showed.
China’s JD.com posts slowest growth ever
China’s e-commerce giant JD.com recorded a 10.3 percent increase in sales over the 18 days to Sunday during the first major shopping festival since a recent COVID-19 outbreak, the firm said, sharply down from the 2021 event’s growth of 27.7 percent.
This year’s figure was the slowest for the retailer, showing how consumer appetite in the world’s second-largest economy has been shriveled by lockdowns to halt the omicron variant of coronavirus and slowing economic conditions.
Chinese shoppers purchased 379.3 billion yuan ($56.48 billion) of goods on JD’s platform over the “618” period, it said on its official WeChat account.
“We are further improving delivery services in urban and rural areas,” it added in a statement, referring to efforts during the event that built on its supply chain infrastructure and digital intelligence technology.
The 618 event is China’s second-largest shopping festival after Singles Day in November and was initiated in 2004 to mark JD.com’s founding anniversary.
(With inputs from Reuters)