BEIJING — China saw a steady increase in its natural gas output in April, official data showed.

The country's natural gas output was 17.7 billion cubic meters in April, up 4.7 percent from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the first four months of this year, China reported a total of 74.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas production, up 6.2 percent year-on-year.

During the January-April period, China imported a total of 35.87 million tons of natural gas, down 8.9 percent year-on-year, the bureau said.