Japan’s Nikkei slid 2.1% in its largest daily loss in five weeks, while Chinese blue chips eased 1.0%.

Japan’s Nikkei added 0.7% to also reach a three-month peak.

Asia's projects were meant to usher in the next wave of LNG demand, based off economic growth and electricity demand projections in the pre-COVID 19 era.

Southeast Asia today is viewed as the last likely bastion of strong growth in coal demand globally. But just as Indian coal-fired power generation fell an entirely unprecedented 26TWh or -3% during 2019, we note expectations for sustained decades-long growth in Southeast Asian coal-fired power generation is far from a locked-in certainty.

Volatile movement is expected even as crude futures appear to have found a floor currently, after a dramatic week that saw the NYMEX contract slip into negative territory for the first time.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell as much as 1% before erasing losses to last stand at 0.4% higher while Japan's Nikkei slumped 0.7%.

The Philippine index led the gains, rising 3% and hit its highest close in a month. Big caps Ayala Corp and Bank of the Philippine Islands rose 8.3% and 5.2%, respectively.

Asia's markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong opened higher, then pared gains.

The average LNG price for May delivery into northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at $3.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up 20 cents from the previous week,

Russia's Sibanthracite group aims to boost the annual export capacity of Russian coals to 100 million mt with newly launched infrastructure project to build the second tunnel on Baikal Amur Mainline railway.