石油石化行业：英加天然气期货价下跌，欧洲天然气库存量上升

Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is "Positive" for the oil and petrochemical sector, indicating an expectation of performance that exceeds the market benchmark by more than 5% over the next six months [3][36]. Core Insights - Domestic LNG ex-factory prices continue to decline month-on-month, while UK and Canadian natural gas futures prices have also decreased. In contrast, US natural gas futures prices have risen [2][3]. - China's natural gas production increased in April, with a month-on-month rise of 7.17%, reaching 632,300 tons. Meanwhile, the apparent consumption of natural gas in China decreased slightly month-on-month but showed a year-on-year increase [15][16]. - European natural gas imports rose in April, with a total of 176,811.60 million cubic meters, marking a month-on-month increase of 3.50%. However, imports from Russia saw a significant decline, both month-on-month and year-on-year [21][25]. Summary by Sections Natural Gas Prices - As of May 16, domestic LNG ex-factory prices were 4,499.00 CNY/ton, down 1.10% month-on-month but up 4.65% year-on-year. US NYMEX natural gas futures closed at $3.33 per million British thermal units, reflecting a month-on-month increase of 1.78% [7][8]. Supply and Demand - China's natural gas production in April was 632,300 tons, up 7.17% from the previous month. The apparent consumption was 33.958 billion cubic meters, down 0.86% month-on-month but up 2.26% year-on-year [15][16]. Inventory - As of May 16, US LNG/LPG inventory was 154,063 thousand barrels, up 12.03% month-on-month. European natural gas inventory reached 49.925 billion kilowatt-hours, up 22.47% month-on-month [18][21]. Imports and Exports - China's natural gas imports in April were 9.667 million tons, up 5.56% month-on-month but down 6.11% year-on-year. European imports from Russia fell significantly, with a total of 8,250.90 million cubic meters, down 6.17% month-on-month and 49.78% year-on-year [26][21].