The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM for the previous week (8 May – 12 May) rose for three consecutive days from the high USD 9s of the previous week to low USD 10s as the demand from Thailand and Taiwan.
JKM then hovered around USD 10/MBtu until 12 May amid mild weather and high inventories. According to METI, Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation totaled 2.25 million tonnes as of 7 May, down 0.19 million tonnes from the previous week, up 0.14 million tonnes from the end of the same month of last year and up 0.24 million tonnes from the average of the past five years.
The European gas price TTF rose slightly to USD 11.9/MBtu on 8 May from USD 11.8/MBtu the previous week following the shutdown at Norway’s Hammerfest LNG by compressor trouble.
TTF then fell for four consecutive business days reflecting bearish factors such as Asian demand, high underground gas storage, and stable supplies. ACER published the 12 May spot LNG assessment price for delivery in the EU at EUR 30.2/MWh (equivalent to USD 9.7/MBtu).
According to AGSI+, the European underground gas storage rate as of 12 May was 63.0%, up from 61.0% the previous week.
The U.S. gas price HH rose for the second consecutive day to USD 2.3/MBtu on 9 May from USD 2.1/MBtu the previous week reflecting lower supplies due to wildfires in Alberta, Canada.
HH then hovered around USD 2.2/MBtu amid weak feedgas demand at U.S. LNG plants, reaching USD 2.3/MBtu on 12 May.
According to the EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 11 May, the U.S. natural gas underground storage on 5 May was 2,141 Bcf, up 78 Bcf from the previous week, up 31.2% from the same period last year, and up 18.4% from the historical five-year average.
Updated 15 May 2023
Source: JOGMEC
