The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM for the previous week (22 January – 26 January) fell to high USD 8s on 26 January from mid USD 9s the previous week. Demand remains weak with high inventory levels across Northeast Asia, although daily price declines have stimulated buying interest from China, India, Thailand and other Asian countries. METI announced on 24 January that Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation as of 21 January stood at 2.49 million tonnes, down 0.07 million tonnes from the previous week.
The European gas price TTF fell to USD 8.9/MBtu on 26 January from USD 9.1/MBtu the previous week. Bearish fundamentals are indicated by mild weather despite the conflict in the Red Sea. According to AGSI+, the EU-wide underground gas storage declined to 72.3% as of 26 January from 75.5% the previous week.
The U.S. gas price HH rose to USD 2.7/MBtu on 26 January from USD 2.5/MBtu the previous week. On 26 January, Freeport LNG Train 3 revealed that it expects to be shut down for about a month due to electrical problems at its liquefaction facility caused by the cold wave that hit the entire U.S. The EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 25 January showed U.S. natural gas inventories as of 19 January at 2,856 Bcf, down 326 Bcf from the previous week, up 4.0% from the same period last year, and 5.2% increase over the five-year average.
Updated : 29 January 2024
Source: JOGMEC
