NYC-based PIRA Energy Group reports that China’s first quarter results are in and what the data show are none too optimistic for the balance of the year, at least for the LNG trade.
Despite Thursday’s bullish surprise in the US, a number of crosscurrents remain at play that were obscured in the latest report as heating loads appear heavily responsible for the large week-on-week narrowing of stock builds. Thursday’s rally into the $2.70s, especially if sustained through next week, could undermine already underperforming gas-fired EG, PIRA said in its report.
The normal rules and assumptions will not apply to this injection season because of the sizable decrease in oil-indexed prices in the coming months, which are causing all kinds of unique optimization plays in Europe. After a strong rate of injection in the last week of the month, final numbers will show a slight build inventory of 2.4-bcm, but by and large, the kickoff of storage injection season has been somewhat delayed.
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Image: CNPC