Unseasonable temperatures in Europe drive recent multi-year highs in LNG prices
LNG prices may be set for strong Q4
Supply- and demand-side factors pushed contracts to multi-year highs in recent months and may continue to lend support going into the fourth quarter
Global LNG prices have hit record levels in recent weeks as Europe and Asia continue to compete for restricted supply. But there is debate over whether prices will remain quite as high for the remainder of 2021. This year started with price spikes stemming from a combination of outages, colder-than-usual temperatures in the northern hemisphere and the blockage of the Suez Canal. This all contributed to the depletion of European gas storage, with the knock-on effect of raising global LNG demand for the rest of the year. Subsequent opportunities to rebuild stocks have been limited and prices have continued to spike in a tightly balanced market. Indeed, Europe has since experienced unseasonably
Also in this section
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
