Western sanctions on Russia due to the Ukraine invasion have sparked fears of disruption of Russian gas supply to Europe, sending global gas prices to all-time highs earlier this year and raising energy security concerns.
Germany is building an LNG receiving terminal and has contracted floating storage and regasification units.
"It's a race against time. We believe that the regas facilities will probably be up and running before the end of winter, but not perhaps by the start of winter. So that's a very delicate balance," said Michael Stoppard, global gas strategy lead at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
A severe winter in the northern hemisphere could also spark competition between Europe and Asia for LNG and push prices higher, the executives said.
Buyers are increasing stockpiles ahead of winter, underpinning Asian spot LNG prices at nearly three times their May 2021 levels, unusually high for low-demand season in the second quarter.
WIESBADEN − The inflation rate in Germany, measured as the year-on-year change in the consumer price index (CPI), stood at +7.4% in April 2022. “The inflation rate thus reached an all-time high for the second month in a row since German reunification”, said Dr. Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). In March 2022, the inflation rate jumped to 7.3%, the main reason being the development of energy product prices. What stands out in April 2022 is the above-average increases in food prices. This is where the impact of the war in Ukraine is becoming more and more visible. The Federal Statistical Office also reports that consumer prices were up 0.8% on March 2022.