Ying Ting Lew

Taiwan's state-run CPC Corporation has emerged as Northeast Asia's most active spot LNG buyer since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, ramping up purchases to offset supply disruptions and diversify procurement away from its traditional suppliers. Taiwan is among the most exposed buyers in Northeast Asia to Qatari LNG, with nearly 40% of its long-term contracted supply sourced from Qatar, according to S&P Global Energy CERA data.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China on May 19-20 is putting bilateral gas cooperation back at the center of market focus, with participants watching for signs of movement on the long-awaited Power of Siberia 2 pipeline and for clues on whether rising Russia-linked LNG flows into China can evolve into a broader pillar of supply cooperation.

The July JKM-NWE derivatives spread widened in the last two weeks of April as prolonged risks to LNG flows via the Strait of Hormuz reinforced the pull toward Asia, while weak European storage economics continued to cap Northwest European gas prices.