Cheap oil-linked LNG supply to India trumps US gas amid trade talks

Indian buyers favour cheaper oil-linked LNG over US gas as henry hub prices and freight costs rise, cooling appetite for long-term US LNG deals amid ongoing trade talks

A surge in US natural gas benchmark prices Henry Hub (HH) and volatile freight rates are making Indian fuel importers review their plans to purchase US LNG on a long-term basis, a key demand of the (US President) Donald Trump administration, senior industry sources told Business Standard. This comes even as India accelerates talks with the US to conclude a much-delayed bilateral trade deal. 

Senior officials from two state-run refiners said that the ardour for US LNG had cooled in the last few months compared to what was seen last year, after a volatile HH soared to multi-year highs in