The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM for the previous week (15 May – 19 May) fell from the low USD 10s the previous week to the low USD 9s on 16 May, the lowest since May 2021.
With high inventories suppressing demand and buyers watching with an eye toward additional supply from tenders, JKM continued to rise slightly to the high USD 9s on 19 May.
According to METI, Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation totaled 2.67 million tonnes as of 14 May, up 0.43 million tonnes from the previous week, up 0.56 million tonnes from the end of the same month of last year and up 0.66 million tonnes from the average of the past five years.
The European gas price TTF trended downward from USD 10.5/MBtu the previous week to USD 9.6/MBtu on 19 May.
The European temperature forecast for the second half of May is below the 30-year average, which is expected to suppress demand.
ACER published the 17 May spot LNG assessment price for delivery in the EU at EUR 28.2/MWh (equivalent to USD 8.9/MBtu).
According to AGSI+, the European underground gas storage rate as of 19 May was 65.2%, up from 63.0% the previous week.
The U.S. gas price HH rose slightly to USD 2.6/MBtu on 19 May from USD 2.3/MBtu the previous week, after a slight up and down.
According to the EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 18 May, the U.S. natural gas underground storage on 12 May was 2,240 Bcf, up 99 Bcf from the previous week, up 30.3% from the same period last year, and up 17.9% from the historical five-year average.
Updated 22 May 2023
Source: JOGMEC
