Harsh winter in key markets drives spot LNG prices in Asia to record levels

Spot LNG in Asia is highly sensitive to marginal demand in Japan, Korea and China, where heating load has gone up significantly. Emergency buying by Japanese power firms is driving prices up

Spot Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices in Asian markets are at record high levels for deliveries due in February 2021. These prices are driven by a harsh winter in North East Asia pushing up demand for spot LNG in Japan, South Korea, and China.

“The spot LNG price in Asia is highly sensitive to marginal demand in Japan, Korea and China. Since these places are experiencing harsh winter, the heating load has gone up significantly. Emergency (unplanned) buying by Japanese power companies is the driving factor for pushing up prices,” Debasish Mishra, Partner at Deloitte told Business Standard.

Natural gas