*The 20% year-on-year surge in Chinese LNG imports to a Q1 record of 19.8mn tons for the first three months of 2024 (MEES, 19 April) drove overall LNG imports for the top five Asian buyers to a 5% year-on-year increase to 62.1mn tons. This is the second highest ever Q1 figure, although 5mn tons below the record seasonal figure of 67.2mn tons notched up in 2021 (see chart 1).