Bangladesh Uncovers Historic Gas Bargain After 8 Months of Low Prices

Bangladesh:  Bangladesh purchased its first Liquefied natural gas shipment in eight months, indicating that plunging prices are making this fuel more accessible to emerging countries with energy needs. This week, Bangladesh purchased a February delivery of LNG from the spot market. In the past five months alone, Asian LNG prices have decreased by approximately 70%.

The Bangladeshi government is welcoming recent declines in Asian LNG spot prices, which have been double the 10-year average throughout 2020. This drop brings welcome relief after the country was forced to implement rolling blackouts and cut back on electricity consumption due to skyrocketing prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in June. The government had also meanwhile halted its additional imports of LNG during this time.

Emerging nations have substantially decreased their demand for expensive Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments over the course of last year. Instead, they've opted for cheaper and more readily available fuels such as coal or implemented rationing of gas to industries and consumers. The mild winter in Europe and North Asia has made LNG much more affordable again, resulting in increased gas demands from nations such India and Thailand.

Bangladesh has been able to purchase fuel on international markets after securing a loan of $4.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund. This loan comes as a relief for the nation, whose foreign exchange reserves had decreased significantly due to last year's surging commodity prices.