Nice Mr Spara gas prices heading upwardLNG price sends warning...

Nice Mr Spara gas prices heading upward

LNG price sends warning togas buyers

Jan 6,2021 – 12.00am

Anunprecedented surge in prices for LNG in Asia is ringing alarm bells amongindustrial energy users on the east coast amid forecasts that domestic gasprices could be driven back up into double figures, despite lacklustre demand.

Freezingwinter temperatures and a supply squeeze have driven north Asian spot prices for LNG to a six-year high of about $US15 per million British thermal units, an astonishing turnaround from the sub-$US2 levels of last June.

The sharprally has triggered a spike in estimated LNG "netback" prices - theequivalent price in Australia to the spot Asian LNG price - to levels not seensince the competition watchdog started publishing netback prices at thebeginning of 2016

Pricesfor gas transported by tanker have soared in recent weeks.

The latest prices released this week by the AustralianCompetition and Consumer Commission estimate an LNG netback price inFebruary of $15.52 a gigajoule, 78 per cent higher than this month and almostseven times last July's average.

Incontrast, spot prices on the east coast were $5.30/GJ in Sydney on Tuesday.