Severe Winter Forecast Sparks Recovery in Asia’s LNG Prices

TOKYO — Gas prices in Asia have begun to recover from the coronavirus-induced plunge earlier this year, driven by predictions of a colder winter and disruptions to U.S. production caused by hurricanes.

The spot price for liquefied natural gas in Northeast Asia is around $5.20 per million British thermal units, nearly three times above the record lows from earlier this year. The figure remains below the roughly $6 logged in fall 2019 but has recovered to where it was before the coronavirus spread across the world.

Even as the pandemic dampens commercial demand for gas, new weather risks are raising the prospects for a tighter market, prompting Japanese utilities to snap up LNG contracts on the spot market. The recovering Chinese and Taiwanese are also helping the market, as is Japanese demand, which has been on the rise after bottoming out in May. Read more…..