BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China reported an increase in its natural gas output in August, official data shows.

The country’s natural gas output totaled 15.9 billion cubic meters last month, rising 11.3 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The volume rose 15.5 percent from that in August 2019, putting the two-year average growth at 7.5 percent.

In the first eight months, China’s natural gas output amounted to 136.1 billion cubic meters, increasing 10.8 percent from a year earlier, the NBS said.

Imports of natural gas rose 22.2 percent from a year earlier to 79.31 million tonnes in the same period.