Asia

More U.S. LNG cargoes are taking longer and costlier routes to reach consumers in Asia as a drought impacting levels at the Panama Canal has increased wait times to transit the waterway. “The Panama Canal remains a primary route for U.S. LNG to access Asian markets, though an increased volume of trade is utilizing other…

Soaring temperatures are pushing Asian LNG buyers into the market to cover power demand, keeping Japan-Korea Marker prices at a premium to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark.  Asia, along with North America and Latin America, are facing El Niño weather conditions causing a surge in cooling demand around the globe.  “We think recent…

Global natural gas markets were calm Monday despite a brief armed rebellion in Russia over the weekend that called into question President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. “The market seems to be reacting very little to events in Russia,” said Engie EnergyScan analysts. “One might say that this is to be expected, given that the…

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. One of the themes that has been touched upon is the increasing integration of the global gas market. This means U.S. integration with the rest…

Global natural gas prices are starting to tick upward once again as maintenance events and warmer weather appear to signal more demand for LNG, but analysts are warning a bearish summer could still lie ahead. After sliding for several weeks to the lowest points since 2021, prompt Asian and European prices began to rally again…

Indonesia may prohibit new LNG export contracts and contract renewals in the future to divert gas to meet domestic industrial demand, a government official said. “We have been exporting LNG for many years, but now we need it, as it turns out. We don’t want to export anymore,” Indonesia’s Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister…

European natural gas prices surged on Monday, lifted by a jump in other commodities and ongoing competition for LNG amid a tightening pool of supplies.  The prompt Title Transfer Facility (TTF) contract surged by more than 20% to finish at nearly $9/MMBtu. Monday’s sharp spike came after nine straight weeks of losses, when TTF fell…

Despite slight gains on Tuesday, European natural gas prices continued to trade at some of the lowest levels since April 2021, following eight straight weeks of losses that have more consistently widened the spread to Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) prices.   The July Title Transfer Facility (TTF) contract dipped below $8/MMBtu for the first time in more…

Weak industrial demand and mild weather pushed European natural gas prices even lower on Monday after seven straight weeks of losses. The prompt Title Transfer Facility (TTF) contract fell below $10/MMBtu last week for the first time since June 2021 and stayed there Monday after falling another 1.5%. If prices continue to fall to near…