What caused the acceleration in the Natural Gas prices globally

Asian Natural Gas prices surged, tracking European gas prices due to limited Russian gas flow and LNG supply. High LNG spot prices come with increasing crude oil prices staying above the $100/barrel mark due to emerging demand and limited supply. On 17th March, Reliance Industries Limited sold Natural gas from its coal bed methane for around $23.5/MMBtu in Madhya Pradesh. It was heard that LNG importers like Pakistan, India, and Thailand had to pay approximately $33/MMBtu - $36/MMBtu for spot LNG cargoes which is the highest price they had settled in the market. In the Chinese market, the drop in total imports came as spot prices increased due to supply shortages, and buyers switched to coal for their requirements.

On 30th March, at Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands, the LNG spot prices rose to a weekly average of $34.66/MMBtu due to bullish demand and limited supply. The Henry Hub spot prices rose from $5.26/MMBtu, on 23rd March, to $5.34/MMBtu on 30th March. In this week, the production of Natural Gas grew by 0.1% to (0.1 Bcf/day) compared to the previous week. Net imports from Canada to the US increased by 25.5% to meet the demand for Natural Gas for space heating in the Northeast and Midwest.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Natural gas will slip in the upcoming weeks. In the long run, the slow Asian LNG demand and easing Russian exports of Natural Gas to the European and Asian regions could further slow down the prices in the Asian market. It can be estimated that China, India, and Southeast Asia are expected to increase coal consumption as an option for Natural Gas. In the USA, the price of Natural Gas is expected to increase due to surging export market to European Nations and accelerating domestic consumption. With container shortages, logistics constraints and transportation costs will more likely to rise.