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Asian spot LNG prices at two-month high tracking EU gas rally

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices hit a two-month high this week, tracking a rally in European gas prices, despite subdued Asian demand due to healthy inventories. The average LNG price for March delivery into north-east Asia (LNG-AS) was at $14.90 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the highest since early December and up from $13.80/mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. “Bullish prices are expected to continue in the week ahead supported by colder weather and supply disruptions at the 16.3 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) North West Shelf ...

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Japan may see LNG demand up if renewables are slow; Canada there to deliver, officials say

Japan’s demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) may grow by more than 10% to some 74 million metric tons by 2040 under a government scenario where the renewable energy rollout goes slower than expected, a senior industry ministry official said. Japan’s domestic LNG demand continued to fall last year, dropping by 0.4% to 66 million tons due to a weaker economy, a growing share of renewable energy, and nuclear power plant restarts. Yuya Hasegawa, a division director at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), told a conference in ...

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US natgas prices slide 3% on rising output, lower demand forecasts

U.S. natural gas futures slid about 3% on Friday on rising output and forecasts for lower demand next week than previously expected. That price decline came despite rising flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for colder weather over the next two weeks. Front-month gas futures Sfor March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 9.9 cents, or 2.9%, to settle at $3.309 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Thursday, the contract closed at its highest since January 29 for a second day in a ...

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Lower Brent Prices to Support Margins for Indian Fuel Refiners in FY26

Indian oil marketing companies’ (OMCs) EBITDA will rise in the financial year ending March 2026 (FY26) as demand growth remains steady and Brent crude oil prices fall to USD70 a barrel (bbl) in 2025 and USD65/bbl in 2026, says Fitch Ratings. We expect the OMCs’ gross refining margins (GRM) to hover around mid-cycle levels of USD5/bbl to USD6.8/bbl and for marketing margins to remain healthy in FY26, aided by lower crude oil prices, improving demand and slower net capacity growth in the region. This is despite reduced benefits to GRMs ...

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India’s January fuel demand drops to 3-month low

India’s January fuel consumption hit its lowest monthly level since October, but was up 3.2% year-on-year at 20.49 million metric tons, oil ministry data showed on Friday. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT India is the world’s third-largest consumer and importer of oil. The data is a proxy for the country’s oil demand. BY THE NUMBERS On a monthly basis, January fuel demand was its lowest since October, down more than 1% from 20.73 million tons in December, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell’s (PPAC) website shows. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, eased ...

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Naphtha crack climbs to 3-month high, posts weekly gain

Asia’s naphtha refining margins jumped to their highest in three months on Friday, ending the week higher as firmer demand prospects for the petrochemical feedstock and weaker crude oil prices supported the market. The crack (NAF-SIN-CRK) surged $15.23 from the previous day to $110.18, as the backwardation between the second-half March and April contracts widened by $2.25. The margins gained 21.21% on the week. Though Asian petrochemical margins have yet to give clear direction following the imposition of 10% tariffs on Chinese goods by the U.S., missing petrochemicals from the ...

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Pakistan to renegotiate LNG deal with Qatar for better terms

Pakistan announced plans to renegotiate its liquefied (LNG) supply agreement with Qatar, Reuetrs reports. The country’s Petroleum Minister cited the need for better terms in light of Pakistan’s current economic crisis, which has led to reduced power consumption. The nation, which relies on natural gas for over a third of its electricity, faces the challenge of excess capacity and the associated costs due to long-standing contracts with independent power producers. According to The News newspaper, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, while addressing a parliamentary committee on energy, stated that the existing ...

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Prices remain near 15-month highs on weather, low storage

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices remained near 15-month highs on Friday morning as colder weather stoked demand and lower storage levels buoyed the market. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was up 0.60 euro at 54.80 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $16.69/mmBtu, by 0916 GMT, according to LSEG data. The contract hit an intra-day high of 55.45 euros/MWh on Thursday, its highest level since October 2023. The Dutch April contract (TRNLTTFMc2) was up 0.21 euro at 54.31 euros/MWh. In Britain, the front-month contract (NGLNMH5) ...

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Asia Distillates: Cash differentials slip further; March refiner sales show mixed interest

Asia’s middle distillates markets recorded weaker spot price movements this week, as talks of ample prompt supplies came into focus despite slightly wider east-west price spreads, with trading window deals flipping into discount. A handful of February cargoes from two key China oil majors emerged after the Lunar New Year holidays, further weighing on spot markets. Meanwhile, some refiners also kickstarted March spot sales – though deal prices were in a wide range as traders’ expectations were slightly mixed. Taiwan’s CPC sold March 10ppm sulphur gasoil at discounts of 20-30 ...

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Europe Gas Prices rise amid lower temperatures

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Thursday morning amid lower temperatures expected for tomorrow and next week. The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was 0.87 euro higher at 54.27 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0841 GMT. The contract hit an intra-day high of 54.61 euros/MWh on Monday, its highest level since October 2023. The Dutch contract for April was up 0.63 euro at 53.88 euros/MWh, while the British front-month contract (TRGBNBPMc1) rose by 1.55 pence to 132.00 pence per therm. Average temperatures in ...

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Egypt secures LNG deals with Shell and TotalEnergies for 2025

Egypt has signed deals worth around $3 billion with Shell SHEL and TotalEnergies TTE to secure 60 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cover demand for 2025, three trading sources told Reuters. The most populous Arab country last year returned to being a net importer of natural gas, buying dozens of cargoes and abandoning plans to become a supplier to Europe amid a steep decline in domestic output. Egypt’s domestic supplies fell to a seven-year low in September 2024, according to data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative, mainly ...

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Asia Distillates: Spot 10ppm diffs at 4-month low amid high prompt stocks

Asia’s middle distillates markets slipped, with diesel spot differentials maintaining at nearly four-month lows as downside pressures from higher inventories in Singapore and sufficient February supplies from northeast Asia weighed. Shaky demand in the near-term for February cargoes also bore down, amid talks that more South Korea origin barrels are bound for Singapore in the next two weeks. Inventories at key trading hub Singapore shot up to a seven-week high of more than 10 million barrels, as a result of these arrival cargoes. While the east-west price spread was slightly ...

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Refining Margins dip; outright prices edge lower in active selling

Refining margins for light distillates eased on Thursday, while outright prices fell as more selling activity emerged. Gasoline cracks fell day-on-day at $7.25 a barrel. The market remains weighed by a mixed outlook on supply. Spot trade for gasoline was robust, with lower offers pressuring outright gasoline prices. Meanwhile, naphtha cracks (NAF-SIN-CRK) slipped below $95 a barrel, after crude prices gained in the day. In latest inventory data, Singapore light distillate stockpiles jumped to their highest in 21 months, breaching 16.4 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 5, Enterprise ...

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Asia Distillates: Cash markets slip further; CPC Corp offers March gasoil

Asia’s middle distillates cash markets extended losses as expectations of ample, prompt supplies emerged, while March refiner sales activity continued to gain momentum. A handful of traders were concerned about the excess supplies in the near-term due to increasing import arrivals in the coming week. Quite a number of northeast Asia-origin cargoes will be bound for Singapore in the coming weeks, given a lack of demand there, one trade source said. Meantime, Asian prices need to be lower so that the wider east-west arbitrage can allow some swing suppliers to ...

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Naphtha crack hits over one-month high on US-Iran sanction worries, crude weakness

Asia’s naphtha refining margins climbed to their highest in more than a month on Wednesday, buoyed by softer crude oil prices and concerns of tighter distillate flows after U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed a stricter policy on Iran’s oil exports. The crack (NAF-SIN-CRK) jumped $7.90 from the previous day to $98.45, its strongest level since Jan. 3. Backwardation between the second-half March and April contracts widened by $1.25 to $5. Trump on Tuesday restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to ...

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