Asian LNG (JKM) climbs to highest since late March as Asian buyers scramble for cargoes to replace Qatar's

The Japan Korea Marker (JKM), Asia's main benchmark for liquefied natural gas, reached about 19.9 dollars per million British thermal units on Thursday, 16 July, a jump of roughly 18.5% on the day and a gain of nearly 26% over the past month, its highest level since late March.

The main driver is the near-total halt of Qatar's LNG exports after fresh attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. QatarEnergy has declared force majeure on some of its shipments to Asia and Europe, forcing North Asian buyers (China, Japan and South Korea) to seek pricier spot cargoes. The Persian Gulf supplies about one fifth of the world's gas, and cutting that flow is pushing the global spot market toward a fierce contest between European and Asian buyers.