The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM for the previous week (10 April – 14 April) fell to late USD 11s on 10 April from USD 12/MBtu in the previous week, as mild weather has weakened demand in this region and inventories remain high.
This was the lowest level in 22 months. JKM then rose to USD 12/MBtu on 12 April, due to expectations of a stronger contango based on the JKM future price while demand was limited, and trading activity was weak. JKM then fell two consecutive days to late USD 11s on 14 April, following limited demand and firm inventory levels.
According to METI, Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation totaled 2.40 million tonnes as of 9 April, down 0.02 million tonnes from the previous week, up 0.44 million tonnes from the end of the same month last year and up 0.45 million tonnes from the average of the past five years.
The European gas price TTF was almost flat on 10 April, from USD 13.8/MBtu the previous week, due to weak activity in the market after the Easter vacation, but rose to USD 14.0/MBtu on 11 April.
TTF then fell for three consecutive days to USD 13.3/MBtu on 14 April, as gas demand softened due to strong U.K. wind power generation and mild weather. ACER published the 14 April spot LNG assessment price for delivery in the EU at EUR 34.4/MWh (equivalent to USD 11.2/MBtu).
According to AGSI+, the European underground gas storage rate as of 14 April was 56.2%, down from 55.4% the previous week.
The U.S. gas price HH rose two consecutive days from USD 2.0/MBtu the previous week to USD 2.2/MBtu on 11 April.
HH then fell two consecutive days to USD 2.0/MBtu on 13 April, following favorable production, mild weather, and high inventories but it rose to USD 2.1/MBtu on the next day with the forecast of falling temperatures.
According to the EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 13 April, the U.S. natural gas underground storage on 7 April was 1,855 Bcf, up 25 Bcf from the previous week, up 33.0% from the same period last year, and up 18.9% from the historical five-year average.
Updated 17 April 2023
Source: JOGMEC
