Chinese traders turned to foreign sellers for liquid natural gas because of a domestic supply shortage, which has raised the prices of imported LNG, said Shanghai-based energy consultancy ICIS C1 Energy.

The China National Petroleum Corp's subsidiary in Jiangsu has raised its LNG prices from 5,076 yuan ($805) a metric ton to 5,147 yuan a ton recently, C1 Energy said.

"Domestic LNG resources cannot meet the demand from downstream buyers, so they look for supplements from imports. The daily sales have increased from about seven loads to more than 10 loads," it added.

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