South Asian LNG buyers, particularly Pakistan and Bangladesh, are finding it difficult to pay high spot prices as the region moves into the winter season. Meanwhile, India has too much of the super-chilled fuel because domestic consumers refuse to pay top dollar.

Asian liquefied natural gas spot prices jumped last week, hitting a seven-week high, after Gazprom PJSC said it may further reduce gas deliveries transiting Ukraine to Europe. The company walked back the threat, but colder weather in parts of Asia and Europe has spot prices hovering in the mid-$30s/MMBtu. 

“Now it comes down to weather,” lead consultant David Hewitt of Hewitt Energy Perspectives told NGI. “ Japan is forecasting colder-than-usual temperatures in the second half of the winter. Europe has been...