The landing price for LNG delivered ex-ship to northwest Europe in December edged up USD 0.04 and was last assessed late on Friday at USD 14.15/MMbtu (EUR 45.62/MWh). This is the highest price since 24 November 2023, according to Spark Commodities data and above the previous year high seen late last week.
European LNG prices rallied on Friday, tracking the TTF gas hub, which hit a one-year high after Gazprom announced it would cut gas supply to Austria’s OMV.
The benchmark front-month contract on the Dutch TTF settled on Friday at its highest in nearly a year at EUR 46.55/MWh (USD 14.44/MMbtu).
Meanwhile, Asian LNG prices remain muted due to low demand, making Europe the global premium market for LNG for this winter, based on Friday prices, said Laura Page, Insight manager at Kpler.
Image source: Andy machinist/Shutterstock.com
Asia’s benchmark front-month LNG price for January on the JKM marker, which rolled over during the weekend, settled on Friday at almost USD 14.25/MMbtu, while delivery for December settled at USD 13.58/MMbtu.
“Rising competition”
At least six vessels have confirmed diversions to Europe away from Asia since Gazprom’s announcement, while another four appeared to be diverting but were yet to be confirmed, Page said on Monday.
“Asia is quite comfortable at the moment. We haven’t seen a lot of spot purchases from northeast Asian buyers,” said Page.
Indeed, total Asian LNG imports decreased last week for a third straight week to 5.1m tonnes, according to preliminary Kpler data.
Still, Europe’s price rally is set to hasten competition, said Australia’s ANZ bank in a note.
“Rising competition with Europe has spurred some buyers to actively seek LNG in the spot market,” the bank said.
Source: Andres CALA, Montel
