China's natural gas output up 7% in April

BEIJING -- China's natural gas output registered faster growth in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The country produced 18.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the period, up 7 percent from a year earlier, according to the bureau. The growth rate was 3 percentage points higher than that of March.

The country imported 8.98 million tons of natural gas during the same period, up 11 percent year-on-year.

From January to April, China's natural gas output rose 4.8 percent year-on-year to 78.3 billion cubic meters.