Asian spot LNG prices hit record high: Al Attiyah Foundation – The Peninsula

Asian spot LNG prices hit record high: Al Attiyah Foundation – The Peninsula

Doha: Asian spot LNG prices hit a record high last week as Japanese and Korean buyers secured supply ahead of winter, narrowing the price differential with Europe. The average LNG price was estimated at $57 per mmBtu, up $9 from the previous week, industry sources said.

Energy analysts said that Asian buyers in emerging economies are being priced out on the back of high prices, while in China, economic data this week showed industrial production is missing expectations, which is bearish for the country’s LNG demand in the short term. In Europe, Dutch TTF hub prices rose 21.32 percent on Friday, closing at $75.28 per mmBtu.

Meanwhile, Russia said it will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month via its main pipeline into the region. The Nord Stream pipeline had already been running at just a fifth of its capacity, stoking fears that Russia could halt flows completely heading into the winter heating season and make it more difficult to fill up storage facilities.

In the US, natural gas futures rose about 2 percent to a 14-year high on Friday on record global gas prices, concerns about Russian gas exports to Europe and forecasts for