BEIJING, May 9. /TASS/. China imported 178.77 mln metric tons of crude oil in January - April, up 4.6% year-on-year, the General Customs Administration of China announced on Tuesday.

According to figures released on the customs website, oil imports totaled $104.69 bln in the first four months, a decrease of 11.6% year-on-year.

Chinese companies imported 42.4 mln metric tons of oil from abroad in April, a 19% reduction against March. Its cost reached around $24.5 bln, which is 19.5% less than the previous month.

In January-April, China imported 35.687 mln metric tons of natural gas from abroad, which is 0.3% less compared to the same period last year. The price of gas imports for the first four months amounted to $21.58 bln, having decreased by 0.2% compared to the same period last year, according to the data published on the customs website. China imported around 9 mln metric tons of gas last month alone worth $4.77 bln.

China imported 109.24 mln metric tons of gas in 2022, which is 9.9% less than the year before. In value terms, China's imports of gas increased by 25.7% to $70.01 bln.