Editor’s Note: This column is part of a regular series by industry veteran Brad Hitch for NGI’s LNG Insight dedicated to addressing the complexities of the global natural gas market.

Without easily accessible real-time storage or demand data, the LNG world often tries to interpret the health of Asian natural gas demand through the lens of public cargo tenders. 

When South Asian buyers come to the market with purchase tenders, their ability to transact at the price they intended is seen as an indication of spot demand for the current clearing price.

This makes the liquefied natural gas market quite unique – traders in liquid markets all over the world place bids on exchange or broker screens that are not executed – only in LNG is it deemed newsworthy. 

This column,...