BEIJING — China's natural gas output posted steady growth in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

The output hit 15.1 billion cubic meters last month, up 8 percent year-on-year, 0.2 percentage points lower than that in October, according to the NBS.

In the first 11 months of the year, 157.5 billion cu m of natural gas were produced, up 9.2 percent year-on-year.

The country imported 9.46 million metric tons of natural gas in November, up 3.3 percent year-on-year. In the first 11 months, natural gas imports totaled 87.11 million tons, up 7.4 percent year-on-year.

The country's annual natural gas output is expected to increase by over 11 billion cu m this year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.