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Crude and LNG price surge pressures India oil and gas marketing margins
Higher Asian LNG spot prices are 61% above a year earlier, squeezing margins and pointing to softer LNG imports in September, according to Equirus.
OilPrice reports that a renewed rally in crude oil and LNG prices, combined with higher freight costs, is weighing on marketing margins across India’s oil and gas sector amid disruption to global oil and LNG trade flows tied to the Iran war.
The outlet says Equirus, in a note carried by local media, expects negative gasoline and diesel marketing margins to persist even as higher refining margins provide some offset. It also links the squeeze in gas-sector margins to elevated LNG prices in Asia, where spot prices surged last week to the highest level since 2022.
OilPrice adds that intensifying competition between Europe and Asia for winter gas supply and uncertainty around Middle East LNG availability are contributing to the move in spot prices. Those higher costs are likely to soften India’s September LNG imports compared with strong arrivals in August.
The story also points to rising pressure on India’s crude oil import bill, citing reduced Middle East oil flows and shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz. Freight rates on the Ras Tanura to India route have risen by more than 400% since February 28, when the war began, after Iran closed off the strait.
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