I. Introduction
Currently, gas markets around the world are being confronted by a number of structural, geopolitical and energy policy driven forces. With the ongoing developments with respect to shale gas extraction in the United States (US) and the prospects of a growing share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, a growing realignment of energy policy in Asian markets due to issues of environmental prudence as well as geopolitical tensions in important supply hubs for the European market, the issue of tracking and establishing causal determinants for movements in natural gas (NG) prices has developed further layers of complexity.