1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares close lower Friday

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower Friday, dragged down by weakness in liquor producers and chip makers despite strong momentum from the natural gas sector.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.09 percent to close at 3,297.06, and the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.22 percent lower at 11,094.16.

Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at around 337 billion yuan (about 51.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Liquor producers led the declines, with leading company Wuliangye Group down 1.91 percent to end at 80.58 yuan per share.

Bucking the trend, the natural gas industry posted strong gains across the board amid surging demand as millions of households switched to gas from coal for heating this winter to help combat air pollution.

The country's natural gas consumption rose 18.9 percent year-on-year in the January-November period, 12 percentage points higher than that in the first half and more than 8 percentage points higher than the average growth in the previous five years.

Guizhou Gas Group Corporation and Sinoenergy Corporation both surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 12.67 yuan and 11.55 yuan, respectively. Enditem