China's low imports ease pressure on the LNG market – Commerzbank

European Gas prices remain close to this year's low at just over EUR 31 per MWh, which is around 25% lower than a year ago, Commerzbank's commodity analyst Barbara Lambrecht notes.

LNG supply boosts market despite low storage levels

"Two weeks ago, we pointed out that market participants' complacency in the face of comparatively low storage levels in Europe (currently 82.6%, November 2024: 93.3%, five-year average: 91.2%) was remarkable (see here). This can be explained primarily by the improved LNG availability. Not only have import terminals been expanded, but supply has also improved."

"This is mainly due to increasing supply from the US, but also to lower demand from China, the world's largest LNG importer, which accounted for almost a quarter of global LNG imports last year. This year, however, import demand is noticeably lower, as the latest figures impressively confirm once again. In October, Gas imports (LNG and pipeline) fell to a six-month low of 9.78 million tons."

"This means that in the first ten months of the year, they were 6.2% below the previous year's level. And because pipeline capacities have been further expanded, it is particularly LNG imports that are shrinking: according to official figures from the customs authorities available up to September, these were almost 17% below the previous year's level. The analysis firm Kpler also estimates that LNG imports fell for the twelfth consecutive month in October. Due to the rather mild temperatures at the beginning of winter, there are no signs of a reversal in this trend."