Review of recent key LNG market developments

The immediate LNG market in the Northern Hemisphere winter high demand period has observed a relatively stable demand and supply balance. Both Asian spot LNG and European spot gas prices were slashed by more than half by the end of 2023 from the level of one year earlier and lost USD 3 – 4 per million Btu in a month. This is attributable to European lower gas demand (caused by gas saving efforts and demand destruction), Japan’s reduced intake of LNG, and China’s slower-than-expected increase of LNG imports.