LNG bubble pops

As it was always going to, via Platts:

Booming demand for LNG in Asia due to frigid winter weather put LNG carrying capacity at a premium in January. With LNG shipping rates having retreated from record highs last month and with low stocks in Europe, the market dynamics could shift in February toward the latter part of the month, putting Europe back into focus for some US suppliers.

After hitting a record $32.50/MMBtu on Jan. 13, less than nine months after plunging to a record low of $1.825/MMBtu, the Platts JKM, the benchmark price for spot-delivered LNG to Northeast Asia, has moderated substantially as the market rolled to March. Platts assessed the JKM at $8.738/MMBtu on Feb. 1.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.