China's natural gas output up 12.3 pct in October

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's natural gas output logged robust growth last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The country produced 18.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in October, up 12.3 percent from a year ago and the growth pace was 7.7 percentage points faster than that in September.

In the first 10 months of this year, China's natural gas output rose 6 percent year on year to 178.5 billion cubic meters. The country imported 88.74 million tonnes of natural gas in the same period, down 10.4 percent year on year.

China can generally guarantee natural gas supply for winter heating demands this year despite a complex international market situation, a spokesperson from the National Development and Reform Commission told a press conference on Wednesday.

The commission will urge localities to stay true to related price policies to maintain relatively stable natural gas prices for households, the spokesperson added.