A severe El Niño is poised to drive a warmer-than-usual winter across Asia, potentially curbing energy demand and offering some relief from the strains caused by the US-Iran war.
Major seasonal weather models are pointing to a broadly warm winter across Japan, South Korea and parts of China, along with Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and India. All of these countries rely on liquefied natural gas for part of their energy needs, but war has significantly curtailed supplies from the Middle East and pushed spot prices to the highest level since late 2022.
