Asian countries that typically buy massive volumes of LNG are moving to build contingencies for procuring expensive cargoes and reserving excess volumes as risks of colder winter weather and continued competition with Europe sustain market volatility.

Asian natural gas prices have been steadily descending for more than a week, following the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark for gas sold in Europe. Short-term forecasts of milder weather and higher-than-average levels of storage on the continent have been dropping European prices and hinting at a slight shift in market dominance to Asian offtakers once again.

However, the rising potential for storage shortfalls in Europe and skyrocketing prices for vessels are putting pressure on Asian governments as they look at...