Middle East Crisis Sends China’s LNG Market into Alert: Spark Global Price Surge

China’s Liquefied natural gas (LNG) market concluded February xxxx under evident bearish pressure as ample seaborne supply and subdued institutional buying weakened spot market sentiment through the latter half of the month. Early February saw moderate support from routine procurement activity, but momentum faded after no supplementary purchasing directives were issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Without policy-driven buying, the market was left to absorb steady LNG inflows alongside comfortable storage levels, which kept prompt availability high and limited price recovery in domestic spot negotiations.

Institutional buyers remained the primary demand variable shaping the market during February. Procurement activity from these buyers stayed muted after the absence of fresh guidance from the NDRC during the mid-month period. At the same time, domestic gas production and pipeline imports continued to meet baseline demand requirements. As a result, participants reported healthy inventories at major...