Asia’s natural gas demand has picked up since the COVID-19 lockdowns in the first and second quarters of 2020, but the recovery is haphazard and LNG markets have struggled. Countries that emerged early, like China, are now seeing gas demand saturate, while others like India are still seeing a rebound in LNG imports into June. But gas demand growth remains fragile through summer due to secondary outbreaks and economic damage.

The S&P Global Platts JKM for August was assessed at $2.150/MMBtu on June 30, slightly above record low prices and down from over $5/MMBtu at the start of the year. Oil-linked prices for contracted LNG has fallen sharply end-March, converging with spot JKM prices, in line with crude prices falling to $20s/b. But the rebound in oil prices in May has seen spot LNG and oil-linked LNG prices diverge again…