SHANGHAI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a new price index for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to better reflect changes in the market.

File photo: VCG

The LNG comprehensive import price index (the LNG index), jointly developed by a monitoring center under the General Administration of Customs and Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX), came in at 3,497 yuan (about 494 U.S. dollars) per tonne from Oct. 7-13, up 3.2 percent from the week before.

The index will be released on a weekly basis to offer a new pricing reference for importers.

Currently, China's natural gas import pricing is mainly linked to petroleum prices, which cannot reflect the real supply-demand situation in the domestic market, said Chen Ruyi, a senior analyst with SHPGX.

China's appetite for natural gas has swelled rapidly in recent years, in part due to environmental policies to replace coal-fired power generation.

China has become the world's biggest importer of natural gas. Data showed that the country imported 90.39 million tonnes of natural gas in 2018, up 31.9 percent year on year.