The recent rally in LNG prices amid tightening global markets in the winter has moved the Asian LNG benchmark prices to a rare premium over Brent prices, suggesting that oil-based fuels are now more cost-competitive than natural gas.

This premium of LNG prices over the Brent crude benchmark could prompt fuel switching in the price-sensitive Asian economies from natural gas to oil and oil-based fuels, according to Bloomberg.

The Asian LNG benchmark, the Japan-Korea marker price, traded in early January at 22% higher than Brent on an energy-equivalent basis, per Bloomberg’s calculations.