LNG in World Markets: Asian Buying, Supply Issues Prop Up Spot Prices

This current feature was extracted from the latest edition of Poten’s LNG in World Markets, a monthly service published on April 16, 2024.   Asia-Pacific spot LNG prices stayed bullish in the first half of May, supported by increased buying from markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Taiwan, as well as production disruptions in Nigeria, Malaysia and Australia. Prices mostly kept steady in Europe and the Atlantic Basin, with upside from geopolitical risks offset by incremental gas and LNG supply from Norway and the US, although markets remain prone to volatility.   Asia’s JKM benchmark for front-month deliveries kept above $10/ MMBtu for nearly all first-half May, settling at $10.38/MMBtu on May 14. Europe’s TTF gas index stayed rangebound at between $9/MMBtu and $10/MMBtu in the first half of May for front-month settlement, closing at around $9.38/MMBtu on May 14.   US Henry Hub gas prices, meanwhile, rose to $2.38/MMBtu on May 13, the highest since Jan. 29, although they dipped slightly to $2.35/MMBtu the next day. The spike was due to higher gas demand from US liquefaction plants, particularly Freeport LNG.

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