Prices Lower As Australian Discussions Ongoing

European LNG prices fell 4% on Wednesday to EUR37.25 but are still up 5.5% on the week, as worries eased re Australian supply as it seems discussions will be extensive before industrial action is taken. Prices reached an intraday high of EUR42.66 early in the European session but breaks above EUR40 haven’t been sustained. Markets remain sensitive to developments in Australia as Europe heads towards winter.

• On Tuesday the Australian Union Alliance said that Woodside is “well off the pace” on job security and pay, suggesting that talks are still some way from a resolution. The affected Chevron and Woodside facilities on the Northwest Shelf account for around 10% of global output and while most goes to Asia, a shortage there will put pressure on shipments to Europe given its new reliance on non-Russian sources.
• To put the August move higher in perspective European gas prices rose to around EUR306 in late August last year whereas now they’re just over a tenth of that.