China’s Gas Demand Is a Bigger Worry for Europe Than Russia Cutoff
- LNG buying from China is the biggest ‘unknown’ this year
- In a bullish scenario, China demand may cause prices to surge
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Europe’s gas supplies could be hit harder by a bigger-than-expected jump in Chinese demand this year than from a complete halt in Russian flows, according to the International Energy Agency.
While Chinese demand is the “big unknown,” a bullish scenario could see the country’s liquefied natural gas imports surge as much as 35% in 2023 if costs fall further and its economy expands quickly, the IEA said in a quarterly report. That would boost global competition for the fuel and may push prices back up to the “unsustainable” levels seen last summer, it said.