Asian Gas Prices Rally on Rush by Japan to Secure Winter Supply
- Several Japanese utilities look to buy cargoes on spot market
- Supply disruptions have accelerated competition for fuel
The Japanese government has been urging the nation’s utilities to stock up inventories before winter amid an outlook for tight power supply, according to the traders.
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Japan, one of the world’s top buyers of liquefied natural gas, is rushing to secure supply for winter, exacerbating a global shortage and driving prices of the super-chilled fuel higher.
The Asian benchmark spot price has jumped this week, although is still almost 70% off the record set in early March, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended markets. Several Japanese utilities accelerated discussions with suppliers in the past week to purchase additional shipments for winter, according to traders with knowledge of the matter.