*Korean LNG imports have roared back this year having dipped in 2019 and 2020. Volumes rose 19% to 33.82mn tons for the first nine months of 2021 leaving this year set to smash the annual record of 44.3mn tons set in 2018.
*Q3 is normally the weakest quarter for northeast Asian LNG imports. But recent buying has been unseasonably strong – in China (MEES, 15 October) and Taiwan (MEES, 15 October) as well as Korea, helping boost prices to record levels. The 10.94mn tons that Korea imported in Q3 was up a whopping 50% year on year and by far the highest Q3 figure on record (see chart 1). (CONTINUED - 298 WORDS)
