Can President Trump cut east coast gas prices?

US President Trump is, with some success, aiming to reduce oil prices to cut US petrol prices. If sustained, lower oil prices translate into lower oil-linked LNG prices and lower LNG spot prices. Movements in oil prices take time to feed into LNG prices but in theory the fall in oil prices from a peak of US$86.07/barrel in October to US$58.41/barrel in late November should also translate into lower east coast natural gas prices. Oil-linked netbacks (the value of gas for LNG) as measured at Wallumbilla in Queensland would fall from $14.02/gigajoule (GJ) to $9.23/GJ as a result of the fall in the oil price.

Whether or not Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members decide to to cut production at the meeting on 6 December is likely to have an indirect impact on east coast gas prices.