ISLAMABAD: Cash-strapped Pakistan is paying more than ever for liquefied natural gas, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, saying Pakistan LNG this week bought four cargoes for September delivery at around $15 per million British thermal units, the highest since the nation began imports in 2015.

The importer scrapped a tender for September cargoes that closed earlier this month in a gamble that prices would fall. 

“The price hikes have come amid a global supply crunch of natural gas that has sent rates from the US to Europe surging as importers compete for a finite amount of readily available fuel,” Bloomberg said. “Dutch gas, the benchmark for Europe, is trading at a record high as nations in the region struggle to refill rock-bottom inventories.”

“The high prices are a blow for Pakistan, which along with other developing nations built LNG import strategies on the premise that the fuel would be abundant and cheap for the foreseeable future, as it has for the past several years,” Bloomberg added. “That changed this year, and the current spot price for Asian LNG is trading roughly 67 percent above the 10-year average, according to Bloomberg calculations. “

While domestic consumers are currently protected from the imported gas prices, the government in Islamabad is considering changing some of those regulations to pass on some of the added cost, media has said.