The price of European gas contracts dropped as traders evaluated large inventories and progress in restarting a long-closed US LNG project against the possibility of rising demand.

After a light winter and energy-saving initiatives helped to keep gas supplies stocked and drive down costs. That should further increase Europe’s supply.

Shell Plc CEO Wael Sawan said on Thursday, “I would not call an end to the oil crisis. “I believe we still have work to do.“

Talking about China

According to economists, this year’s prospects will mostly depend as to whether Russian supplies continues to decline, the weather outlook. And the volume of gas China consumes as its economy recovers.

“Everybody is looking to China. We predict a 10% increase in China LNG consumption this year. But would you truly feel confident discussing the effect of COVID on the Chinese economy?” Ed Cox, an LNG Editor at ICIS, remarked

In contrast to average for the same time over the past five years. EU nations decided last year to cut their demand for natural gas by 15% between August 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.