China's LNG Imports Set to Drop 18% in August as Prices Soar

China’s liquefied natural gas imports are on track to slump by 18% in August from a year earlier, bucking a three-month-long trend of growing purchases this summer, as high LNG prices put off some price-sensitive industrial consumers, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Monday. The average price of spot LNG for delivery into Asia nearly doubled this month from a year earlier, as the global gas markets continue to tighten amid intense Asia-Europe competition for supply that’s not trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz.…