Japan: spot LNG price reaches two-year record

Japan’s average price of spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) hit its two-year high record during January, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The average price of spot-LNG imported into Japan that was contracted in January 2017 reached 8.4 US$ per mmBtu, rising the fourth month in a row.

METI’s data also shows that the price of spot LNG arriving into Japan during the month of January was at $7.3 per mmBtu, up from $6.8 per mmBtu in the previous month.

Asian spot prices reached $9.75 earlier in January, however, Japanese utilities started offloading cargoes, shipping them to a more favorable European market. This pegged the spot prices back to $7.75 at the end of the month, Reuters reports.

Cargo offloading continued in February as well, as Shizuoka Gas completed the first reload at its Shimizu liquefied natural gas terminal.

Only spot LNG cargoes are taken into account in this assessments, excluding short, medium and long-term contract cargoes, as well as those linked to a particular price index.

LNG World News Staff