Hormuz Handed US Data Centers the World's Cheapest Gas

The war that closed the Strait of Hormuz at the end of February 2026 sent gas prices in Asia and Europe to their highest levels since the 2022 crisis. In the United States, gas got cheaper. That divergence has turned into one of the largest structural advantages the US has ever had in powering data centers, and it is now colliding with a second trend: the wave of new US LNG export capacity that will draw on the same gas.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported in its third-quarter Gas Market Report that spot LNG prices in Asia averaged $17.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in the second quarter of 2026, up 45% from a year earlier. The reason is that the US is insulated from the physical shock. EIA's STEO forecasts record electricity consumption, "driven by data center development and increased manufacturing activity in the commercial and industrial sectors." It expects US electricity sales of 4,135 billion kWh in 2026, up almost 2%, and 4,211 billion kWh in 2027.

At the same time, the Hormuz crisis accelerated a new round of US LNG investment. Henry Hub is low partly because US production has outrun demand growth this year, helped by a mild first quarter that reduced gas use in buildings, according to the IEA. The IEA estimates cumulative LNG supply losses of around 140 billion cubic meters between 2026 and 2030 because of the Gulf disruption and damage at Qatar's Ras Laffan, which means international buyers will keep bidding for US cargoes for years.

The gas price gap reinforces trends already visible in where AI capacity is being built. The irony is that the same crisis that hurt data center economics in gas-importing countries is also driving investment in the LNG plants that will, over time, link US gas prices more closely to the rest of the world.