China’s imports of natural gas and coal surged in September as Beijing scrambled to deal with a worsening energy crisis that threatens the country’s economic growth, reports the Financial Times. China imported 32.9 million tonnes of coal in September, 76% more than it did during the same month last year, customs data released yesterday showed. Natural gas imports rose 23% year-on-year to 10.6 million tonnes.
Factories and businesses have been forced to ration power use and some households have experienced electricity outages after a power crunch hit more than 20 Chinese provinces last month.
Meanwhile, the effects of the energy crisis continues to ripple around the world. Americans’ home heating bills will rise sharply this winter, according to a federal government forecast, as a global energy crunch begins to reach the world’s biggest economy at a time of building concerns over inflation. And in the UK, two more domestic energy suppliers have gone under owing to record wholesale gas prices.
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