Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices in northern China have dropped more than 40 percent from record highs reached less than two weeks ago as a supply crunch has eased and curbs have been enacted on industrial users of the fuel. Ex-plant LNG prices were quoted at 5,700 yuan ($877) per ton in the Inner Mongolia region, compared to 9,750 yuan on Dec. 24, industry publication www.yeslng.com reported on Thursday. Prices in Shaanxi province fell 46 percent during the same period to 5,520 yuan. “Some industrial users were cut off gas supply or couldn’t afford it,” said Li Ruipeng, a manager at trucked-LNG dealer Tangshan Huapu Gas Co based in the city of Tangshan in the northern Chinese province of Hebei. “Supplies have increased as more gas has been diverted from the south to north,” said Li. Chinese demand for natural gas has surged this winter after […]