The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM (January delivery) for last week (2 – 6 December) was almost unchanged at high-USD 14s on 6 December from high-USD 14s the previous weekend (29 November). JKM rose to mid-USD 15s on 2 December due to higher European gas prices.
However, high inventories and weak demand in Northeast Asia remained unchanged and continued to decline in the second half of the week. METI announced on 4 December that Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation as of 1 December stood at 1.89 million tonnes, down 0.17 million tonnes from the previous week.
The European gas price TTF (January delivery) for last week (2 – 6 December) fell to USD 14.4/MBtu on 6 December from USD 14.8/MBtu the previous weekend (29 November).
TTF was in the high-USD 14s range in the first half of the week as withdrawals from European underground gas storage continued but remained in the mid-USD 14s range in the middle and second half of the week due to steady supply from the Norwegian continental shelf and increased wind power.
According to AGSI+, the EU-wide underground gas storage was 82.7% on 6 December, down from 85.7% at the end of the previous weekend.
The U.S. gas price HH (January delivery) for last week (2 – 6 December) fell to USD 3.1/MBtu on 6 December from USD 3.4/MBtu the previous weekend (29 November).
HH fell compared to the previous weekend due to strong gas production, inventories and forecasts of warmer temperatures. The EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 5 December showed U.S. natural gas inventories as of 29 November at 3,937 Bcf, down 30 Bcf from the previous week, up 4.9% from the same period last year, and 7.8% increase over the five-year average.
Updated: December 9
Source: JOGMEC
