“The market is bracing for a potential short-term downturn in US LNG exports this weekend because of an exceptionally cold weather pattern sweeping over most of the southern US, where US LNG export infrastructure is located.”
Meanwhile, hedge funds executed one of the largest repositioning events in TTF history last week, flipping from net short to net long amid an intense short squeeze that sent prices soaring to highs not seen since last summer, said independent gas analyst Seb Kennedy.
Commercial operators, however, stopped accumulating length and began selling hard into the rally, hedging future sales at profitable prices, he added.
In LNG freight, Atlantic rates further dropped to $16,250/day, while Pacific rates fell to $34,250/day, said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan.
He added that the US front-month arbitrage to North-east Asia via the Cape of Good Hope closed out further this week.
“This week saw the strongest signal to Europe for US prompt cargos since December 2022, driven by continuing falls in the JKM-TTF spread as the JKM fails to match the recent TTF rally,” he said.
(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)