BEIJING — China saw an increase in its natural gas output in September, official data showed.

The country's natural gas output totaled 15.7 billion cubic meters last month, rising 7.1 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The volume rose 15.2 percent from that in September 2019, putting the two-year average growth at 7.3 percent.

In the first nine months, China's natural gas output amounted to 151.8 billion cubic meters, increasing 10.4 percent from a year earlier, the NBS said.

Imports of natural gas rose 22.7 percent from a year earlier to 10.62 million tons in the same period.