A senior executive at Thai PTT said on Tuesday that the company is looking for new sources of liquefied natural gas, such as the Sultanate of Oman, North America and West Africa, as part of its effort to diversify its portfolio in light of geopolitical turmoil, according to Reuters.
Thailand, the largest importer of liquefied natural gas in Southeast Asia, relies on spot supplies to meet 50 percent of its needs. The country increased its imports from the United States this year after exports from Qatar, its largest supplier, were severely disrupted when the Iran war led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are not relying solely on (one) supplier like Qatar, but we are still seeking to explore options,” said Pandit Thambrajamshit, the company’s executive director of operations for the oil and gas exploration and production sector, according to Reuters on the sidelines of the “Gastec” conference. He added: “We are also exploring the possibility of importing from Canada and Mexico,” noting that West Africa and other countries in the Middle East also represent potential sources, noting that Oman is located outside the Strait of Hormuz.
During the conference, Pandit explained that PTT seeks to secure guaranteed liquefied natural gas supplies in the near term for energy security.
Data issued by Kpler Analytics showed that Oman’s exports of liquefied natural gas reached their highest level ever at 1.167 million metric tons in August. The Sultanate exported 11,521 million tons of liquefied natural gas last year.
Pandit stated that the major government company is seeking to cooperate with its partners in order to jointly purchase or jointly load shipments. In order to reduce costs.
He said: “We are cooperating with our partners, especially those who buy LNG in Thailand, to see if we can, for example, joint purchase or joint loading, to save the cost of access and the cost of LNG,” but he refused to reveal the names of the partners.
PTT is working to expand its import capacity of liquefied natural gas to 27 million tons annually within 3 years, compared to about 19 million tons annually currently.
Pandit noted that the company aims to increase demand for liquefied natural gas by 10 million tons annually by 2030, and another 15 million tons annually by 2035.
The Chinese yuan fell slightly against the dollar on Tuesday, while stocks in China and Hong Kong steadied, amid a combination of weak economic data and a limited rebound in technology and artificial intelligence stocks.
The yuan opened in the local market at 6.7100 to the dollar, before trading near 6.7104, down by about 0.03 percent from the close of the previous session. This came as the dollar remained near its highest level in two weeks, supported by rising US Treasury bond yields and increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this week.
Analysts at Mitsubishi UFG said that the markets are still strongly affected by the rise in bond yields in advanced economies, the rise in oil prices with renewed tensions in the Middle East, in addition to fears of a slowdown in spending on artificial intelligence, which has prompted investors to be more cautious towards high-risk assets.
At home, August data showed an acceleration in the growth of industrial production, but weak consumption and a worsening decline in investment once again highlighted the fragility of domestic demand. New home prices also continued to decline, a further indication of continued pressure on the real estate market.
The yuan between the trade surplus and the interest gap
Market participants believe that the yuan may maintain a stable path or tend to rise gradually, benefiting from China's large trade surplus, despite the widening difference in interest rates with the United States. The Chinese currency has risen by about 4.2 percent since the beginning of the year, while achieving slight gains this month. Before the market opened, the People's Bank of China set the daily reference rate at 6.7670 yuan to the dollar, the strongest level since February 2023, but it remained weaker than market estimates. The yuan was trading in the external market near 6.7112 to the dollar.
Stocks move sideways
In the stock market, the CSI 300 index of leading stocks remained almost stable, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell by about 0.1 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 percent. The greatest pressure came from the financial and real estate sectors. Each of them fell by about 1 percent, at a time when basic consumer goods stocks remained almost stable.
Analysts at Barclays said that activity data for August, along with weak demand for credit, confirm that the recovery of domestic demand is still far away. They kept their forecast for Chinese economic growth in 2026 at 4.5 percent, which is lower than the average market expectation.
Technology is partially recovering
On the other hand, technology stocks recorded some recovery. The Star 50 index jumped by as much as 3 percent, in its first rebound in a week after recording its lowest level in 4 and a half months. The semiconductor materials and equipment index also rose by 2.7 percent. Shares of major technology companies listed in Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent, with Tencent shares rising by about 3 percent. Guangdong Tianyu Semiconductor shares also jumped by more than 8 percent, supported by a plan to buy back shares.
But investor sentiment remained relatively weak after a wave of profit-taking that followed a strong rally led by the artificial intelligence sector earlier in the year. Liquidity also declined; Daily trading volume remained close to its lowest levels since April.
Tuesday's movements reflect a state of anticipation in Chinese markets. Investors are balancing limited support from technology and the trade surplus, and continued weakness in domestic demand and real estate pressures, awaiting clearer signals from the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates.
Shipping data showed that shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz witnessed a further decline at the beginning of this week, following the escalation of attacks in the Middle East.
Preliminary data from Kpler showed on Tuesday that the number of ships that crossed the strait reached 4 yesterday (Monday), down from 10 the previous day.
Two bulk dry bulk ships left the waterway; One was loaded and the other was empty, while two oil tankers entered the strait, both sailing without cargo.
These figures do not include some ships that may have transited the Strait with their AIS transmitters turned off to avoid detection.
An oil tanker was subjected to an explosion yesterday, and a fire broke out after it collided with mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Yesterday, the Arab Gulf states also postponed scheduled talks with Iran to discuss possible agreements regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which constituted a setback for diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict and its repercussions on global oil supplies.
In the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Kepler data indicated that 21 ships transporting goods crossed yesterday, down from 28 the previous day.
Before the start of the Iranian war on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz usually witnessed the transit of about 125 large commercial ships daily - including oil and gas tankers, bulk cargo ships, and container ships - a movement approaching 20 percent of the daily global supply of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
