Highlights
- Demand from Northeast Asia and Australia will grow in 2015, but by less than 1%
- India's production will continue to decline for the rest of the year
- Northeast Asian LNG imports are continuing to fall
- Regional spot prices are rising – and getting close to $8/MMBtu
Economic overview
China’s economic slowdown is having a global impact.
The Chinese stock market is continuing to struggle and the country’s economic problems are being felt internationally. The price of oil and other commodities has fallen because of reduced Chinese demand. The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at the start of September, partly because of concerns about China’s economic situation. China’s economy grew by 7% on an annual basis in Q2 2015, the same as in Q1. The gas sector is growing at a more moderate pace, a trend that is expected to continue through the end of the year.
Annual quarterly GDP growth
| Q2 2014 | Q3 2014 | Q4 2014 | Q1 2015 | Q2 2015 | |
| Australia | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| Japan | -0.5% | -1.4% | -0.8% | -0.8% | 0.7% |
| South Korea | 3.4% | 3.3% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 2.2% |
| China | 7.5% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.0% | 7.0% |
| India | 6.9% | 7.7% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 7.2% |
| Indonesia | 5.1% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.7% |
Japan’s GDP grew by less than 1% year on year in Q2. However, this still represents a recovery from the contractions seen over the past year. The service PMI rose to 53.7 in August, its highest level of expansion since October 2013. This supports an optimistic outlook for further growth for the rest of this year. Japan’s gas market is not expected to grow in 2015. Demand levels are likely to be broadly the same as last year.