Spot LNG prices in Asia were largely steady last week, with the Northeast Asian JKM marker holding in the low-USD 11/MMBtu range for December delivery.
Prices briefly dipped below USD 11/MMBtu on 28 October as demand remained weak amid ample supply, before stabilising again on slightly cooler weather and China’s winter procurement activity.
Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation eased to 1.97 Mt as of 26 October, a weekly decline of 0.16 Mt.
In Europe, TTF fell to around USD 10.5/MMBtu by the end of the week, continuing its downward trend on stable supply conditions, strong wind generation and expectations of milder weather.
A brief mid-week bounce followed an unplanned outage at a Norwegian gas field, but the market quickly retreated, marking the lowest TTF level in six months. EU gas storage stood at 82.8% on 31 October, broadly unchanged week-on-week but below last year’s record highs.
US Henry Hub strengthened to USD 4.1/MMBtu as contracts rolled to December delivery. Rising LNG feed-gas demand, colder weather forecasts and the seasonal shift into winter contributed to the upward pressure. US gas inventories rose to 3,882 Bcf as of 24 October, 0.8% above year-ago levels and 4.6% above the five-year average.
Updated: November 4
Source: JOGMEC
