Thailand’s energy outlook is coming under renewed pressure as liquefied natural gas prices surge amid disruptions to Middle Eastern supply routes. PTTEP warned that every US$3 per million British thermal units increase in LNG prices could raise Thai electricity prices by about 5%, highlighting the country’s exposure to the global gas market.

LNG currently supplies around 30% of Thailand’s electricity generation, and more than a quarter of the gas used for power generation is imported. About half of Thailand’s LNG purchases are made on the spot market, leaving utilities particularly exposed to sudden price movements when global supply is disrupted.

The problem is structural as well as cyclical. Domestic gas production is declining as major fields such as Erawan and Bongkot mature, while pipeline supplies from Myanmar are becoming less predictable. Without additional domestic production, long-term contracts or alternative energy sources, Thailand could become increasingly dependent on imported LNG just as Asian demand for the fuel is competing with European buyers.

The immediate market environment is particularly difficult. LNG spot prices have risen to around US$26/MMBtu, while Asian LNG imports are projected to fall to their weakest September level since 2018 as buyers respond to the price shock. Qatar, one of Asia’s major LNG suppliers, has suffered a major disruption because of the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz.

Thailand is therefore accelerating its energy diversification agenda, including renewable generation, grid investment and new domestic gas exploration. The government’s rooftop-solar initiative and plans to expand LNG infrastructure provide some protection, but the scale of the current price shock shows that energy security is rapidly becoming a macroeconomic issue rather than simply an energy-sector concern.

Key points

• Every US$3/MMBtu increase in LNG prices could raise Thai electricity prices by about 5%.
• LNG currently supplies roughly 30% of Thailand’s power generation, with more than 25% of electricity-sector gas imported.
• Asian LNG spot prices have risen to around US$26/MMBtu, while September Asian imports are heading toward their weakest level since 2018.

Why it matters: Higher electricity prices would feed directly into Thai manufacturers, SMEs and households, potentially weakening consumption while increasing production costs. For investors, Thailand’s ability to secure affordable gas and accelerate renewable power is becoming an increasingly important determinant of the country’s competitiveness in data centres, electronics and advanced manufacturing.

Thousands of Barclays staff are demanding concessions from the bank, including a one-off payment, after it said it wants employees to work from the office more often.

Staff who have been expected to work in the office for two days per week should be in the office for at least three days a week from next month, according to the bank.

Unite, which represents about 36,000 Barclays staff, is calling for the bank to reverse its decision. The union is also pressing for exemptions to offset increased travel and childcare costs.

Barclays said many employees already work in the office for three or more days, depending on business need.

The bank sent a memo to staff in July outlining its expectations, which include that senior leaders work at least four days per week in the office.

As first reported in the Financial Times, external, the bank is facing a growing backlash against the proposed rules change.

Unite national officer Rick Coyle said thousands of employees have signed an open letter calling for Barclays to reverse the decision, and the number of signatories “continues to rise”.

He added that Barclays is “trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist” in making its working-from-home rules less flexible.

The open letter, external says workers are delivering “strong financial results and improved customer services” with its current working from home policy.

It adds that thousands of workers have made suggestions, which the union has condensed into a series of demands.

These include:

Barclays said in a statement that it recognised “the benefits of balancing flexibility for colleagues with the importance of working together in our physical locations”.

“Our minimum time in office requirements vary by business area, reflecting the nature of the work and the needs of the business,” a spokesperson said.

The bank declined to say how many staff would be affected by the rules change. However, the BBC understands that there are different rules depending on teams, with, for example, investment bankers in the office for five days per week.

The coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to allow working from home, depending on the nature of the business.

Since then, many organisations have been clawing workers back into the office, despite evidence that hybrid working may be the best fit.

Amazon, Boots and JP Morgan are some of the organisations which brought in policies requiring head office staff to be in every day after the pandemic.

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SAN ANTONIO — Expanding its presence in baking products and ingredients, C.H. Guenther & Son LLC has acquired House-Autry Mills Inc., a Four Oaks, NC-based branded and custom dry-mix flavor solutions provider.

Financial terms of the transaction, announced Sept. 16, weren’t disclosed. The deal brings together two longtime companies in the baking and grain-based foods sectors: House-Autry Mills, founded in 1812 as a grist mill in North Carolina, and San Antonio-based C.H. Guenther (CHG), founded in 1851 as a flour mill in Texas.

A Southern heritage food company, House-Autry produces breading, batters, hushpuppy mixes, pancake and waffle mixes, biscuit mixes, cornbread mixes, gravy mixes, seasonings, marinades, grits and other dry-mix flavor products. The company serves the foodservice, private label and retail channels, providing custom blending, formulation, packaging, large-scale manufacturing, research and development, and culinary innovation.

CHG said the addition of House-Autry extends its reach into priority markets and bolsters its position in ingredients that deliver authentic Southern flavor. CHG also described House-Autry’s products and manufacturing and innovation capabilities as “highly complementary” to its portfolio, noting that the combination of CHG’s scale, manufacturing and logistics and House-Autry’s custom dry-mix platform will enable greater customer innovation and menu differentiation.

“House-Autry is an outstanding strategic fit for CHG,” said Rod Hepponstall, president and chief executive officer of C.H. Guenther. “The company brings a rare combination of deep heritage, trusted customer relationships, strong custom-formulation capabilities and a reputation for quality and service. Together, we will be even better-positioned to reach more customers and help them create custom products and memorable food experiences, while driving long-term financial growth.”

House-Autry operates specialized manufacturing operations in Four Oaks, NC, and Hogansville, Ga. The company has invested in flexible blending, packaging and R&D to drive menu differentiation and develop signature flavors that capitalize on consumer trends, according to CHG.

“We are excited to join the C.H. Guenther family and begin this next chapter for House-Autry,” said Derrick Marconi, president and CFO of House-Autry. “CHG deeply respects our family legacy and commitment to quality, service, innovation and care for customers and employees. This combination creates new opportunities to invest in our capabilities and expand our reach while continuing to deliver the Southern-crafted flavor and partnership our customers have trusted for generations.”

Commercial baking and food manufacturer CHG is a leading supplier of value-added grain-based and frozen food products for foodservice operators and select consumer markets. Its retail brands include such names as Pioneer, White Wings, Sun-Bird, Mi Rancho and Cuisine Adventures. Overall, the company — owned by investment firm PPC, management and other co-investors — operates more than 30 manufacturing plants in the United States, Canada and Europe and fields a roster of more than 2,500 products. 

“This combination reflects CHG’s continued momentum as it expands its portfolio through complementary, value-added food manufacturers with differentiated innovative capabilities,” said Phil Iler, principal at Chicago-based PPC. “House-Autry’s heritage, customer relationships and custom dry-mix capabilities are highly complementary to CHG, and we look forward to continuing to support this terrific business in its next phase of growth.”

House-Autry Mills marks the second acquisition announced by CHG this year. In April, CHG said it acquired Les Aliments Mejicano, an Anjou, Que.-based maker of flour tortillas. That followed the acquisitions of Fresca Mexican Foods, a Boise, Idaho-based maker of flour tortillas, corn tortillas and tortilla chips, in June 2025; St. Paul, Minn.-based Baldinger Bakery and Canada-based Baldinger & Sons Bakery in January 2022; Mid South Baking Co., a supplier of buns and English muffins, in April 2019; and Bönen, Germany-based Wback GmbH, a baker of soft rolls in Europe, in February 2019.

KANSAS CITY — While “uncertainty” has become the buzzword of choice across agricultural commodity markets, “disconnected” may be the more appropriate term for the current state of the US sugar market.

Withdrawn offers from several domestic suppliers for 2027 contracts and strengthening prices that have jumped nearly 20% this year alone belie other factors that seem to be more fundamentally weighty, especially considering the current marketing year began on the heels of record domestic sugar production. These heavy domestic supplies have been compounded by the influx of historically strong imports in recent years, which earlier in the year had kindled ideas of potential forfeitures for US producers and spurred pleas for legislative interventions. Meanwhile, the outlook for demand remains under pressure from policy disruptions, economic strains and the rising usage of GLP-1 weight loss medications. Still, strength in US sugar prices has prevailed.

The sharp reduction in acres planted to sugar beets this year offers one explanation. If the reported area of 1,025,800 acres seeded to sugar beets in 2026 are harvested as projected, it would be the lowest area planted to sugar beets since 1950. On top of lower acres, both the sugar beet and sugar cane crops have struggled with severe weather events, from late spring freezes to widespread drought conditions. Dryness across several sugar beet areas has led many growers to push back harvest activities, which has delayed new product from entering the market in those regions. Also, an infestation of the pasture mealy bug in the Louisiana and Florida sugar cane crops has added another layer of uncertainty to overall production. Given the mounting concern, the US Department of Agriculture has trimmed the outlook for 2026-27 US sugar production. In the Department’s Sept. 11 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, the USDA projected 2026-27 US sugar production at 8,839,000 tons, which would be the lowest outturn for domestic production since 2019-20, if realized.

However, the reduction in acres and output does not exclusively dictate the total available supply, which is supplemented heavily by imports. The USDA in the Sept. 11 WASDE projected total US 2026-27 supply at 14,268,000 tons, which is below recent years but remains close to the 10-year average of 14,441,500 tons. 

“US production might be down a little bit, but it does seem like the rhetoric is a lot more dire than the data suggest,” one analyst said. “I think some price support makes sense because I do think some places will be tighter, but the rampant price gains we’ve seen in the past month don’t seem justifiable.”

Some market participants have argued that an increase in US sugar deliveries for food use this year provides justification for stronger prices, but the spike in deliveries likely was a result of suppliers implementing new policies that forced buyers to take delivery of contracted volumes rather than a reflection of strengthening demand.  

While firm prices and withdrawn quotes tend to indicate a lack of supply, not all users focusing on broad fundamentals seem swayed by the urgent tone of the market.

“I’m not concerned about not getting what I’ve already booked,” one buyer said. “I’ve got some concerns that there’s not a lot of sugar left on the open market for the coming year, but my feeling is that probably won’t happen. But if it does happen, I’ll just shift toward imports to fill our needs.”