COMMODITY TRACKER: 5 charts to watch this week in Commodity News 04/06/2026 European commodities markets face supply pressures, with LNG imports declining for a second consecutive month and aluminum shipments at decade lows. Meanwhile, Brazil continues to rely heavily on Russian diesel, and Asian rice markets diverge as Vietnam’s prices soften while Pakistan maintains competitive export positioning despite climate concerns. 1. EU LNG imports fall amid Middle East disruptions What’s happening? The EU imported about 8.8 million metric tons (12.1 Bcm) of LNG in May 2026, down 8% year over year, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, according to S&P Global Energy CERA data. The US remained the EU’s top LNG supplier, providing about 5.1 million mt in May. Despite monthly drops, total EU LNG imports for the first five months of 2026 stood about 4% higher year over year at 46.3 million mt. The decline stems from disruptions in the Middle East war that have cutoff international buyers from about 20% of global LNG production since late February. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the DES Northwest Europe LNG marker at $16.712/million British thermal units June 1. What’s next? Europe faces continued challenges in attracting LNG cargoes amid competition with Asia in a tightening global market. The conflict, entering its fourth month, has forced the EU to compete for supplies, with the Platts JKM benchmark for Northeast Asia trading $2.867/million Btu above the Northwest Europe marker on May 29. Forward pricing has also hindered natural gas storage filling across the continent since April, with summer delivery prices consistently exceeding winter prices. EU gas storage reached only 40.1% capacity as of May 30, down from 47.9% in 2025 and 69.7% in 2024 at the same time, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data. 2. EU aluminum imports hit decade low in March What’s happening? The EU imported 274,858 mt of unwrought aluminum in March, the lowest month