Demand for natural gas to be used as feedstock at US LNG terminals reached its highest level on August 27 since April, Reuters reported citing preliminary data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

Feedgas deliveries spiked to 18.5 bn cubic feet (524 mn cubic metres) per day, with the increase driven largely by the return to service after maintenance work of several Texas export terminals.

Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi facility and Freeport LNG, which are the US’s third and fourth largest export terminals both reported higher flows of natural gas following the completion of maintenance work.

Demand for the super-chilled fuel is sky-high right now as Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key bottleneck in global LNG trade, has sidelined about one-fifth of global supply with Qatar, the world's second-largest exporter, and the United Arab Emirates both unable to deliver cargoes.

Europe’s gas storage levels have plummeted amid higher prices on the spot market. In early August underground gas storage facilities across the European Union were just over half full.

In particular, Germany’s storage level was at 47% full against an average of 75% for early August and the Netherlands at 38.5% against a normal 77%.

With winter fast approaching, fears are mounting that Europe could be setting itself up for a fuel shortage crisis and a further rise in LNG spot market prices.

However within Europe, vastly different strategies are being adopted to combat high global LNG prices. Italy became the EU’s biggest importer of the super-chilled fuel in July, as Rome sought to hedge against further disruptions and price spikes.

It marked, the first time Italy has topped Europe for LNG imports since ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg was recorded, which dates back to 2017. Italian gas network operator Snam says it is on track to meet 90% of its refill targets.

Meanwhile, gas shortages have hit major LNG importers in Asia, such as Bangladesh. Facing a shortfall of several hundred megawatts during peak hours, the government introduced load shedding in several regions of the country with stores, markets, and shopping malls also required to close an hour earlier.