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(Reuters) - China’s rising imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) position it to surpass Japan this year as the world’s largest buyer of the superchilled fuel, pricing data and cargo tracking firm ICIS Edge said on Wednesday.
The shift - which some analysts had not expected until 2022 - could happen very soon on a 12-month rolling basis as China’s strong economic recovery, cold weather and a crackdown on pollution boosted demand for the less polluting fossil fuel.
Japan has been world’s biggest LNG importer for decades and the change would signal a major shift in one of the fastest growing energy markets. Purchases from Tokyo, which burns gas from LNG to produce electricity, have been in long-term decline.
Singapore residual fuel oil inventories climbed 5% in the week to June 9, extending sharp gains from the previous week as export volumes plunged, official data showed on Thursday.
By Reuters Staff
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BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s worst drought in almost a century has driven up spot electricity prices 40% this year, raising costs for large industrial consumers which negotiate directly with supplies, electric market executives said.
Energy contracts for the second half of this year and for 2022 have soared, along with a jump in spot prices used in short-term operations that could reach the maximum of the regulatory ceiling in the coming months, they told Reuters.
This could result in a sharp increase in costs for large industries that have not signed contracts in advance to meet all their energy demand, the experts added.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, settling at the highest in more than two years after the top U.S. diplomat said that even if the United States were to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, hundreds of U.S. sanctions on Tehran would remain in place.