August 9, 2018

Japan Spot LNG Contract Price Hits 5-month High

The average contract price for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for shipment to Japan last month hit a five-month high of $10.00 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), Japan's trade ministry data showed on Thursday.

Asian spot LNG prices held around $10 last month as a heatwave gripped Japan and high temperatures swept across South Korea and parts of China, boosting cooling demand.

The average price of spot LNG cargoes that arrived in Japan last month was $10.30 per mmBtu.

METI surveys spot LNG cargoes bought by Japanese utilities and other importers, but excludes cargo-by-cargo deals linked to benchmarks such as the U.S. natural gas Henry Hub index.

It only publishes a price if there is a minimum of two eligible cargoes reported by buyers.

The following table lists the monthly average prices in mmBtu for contracted and arriving spot LNG cargoes. Prices are converted to delivery on an ex-ship basis.

Year	Month	Contract price	Arrival price
2018	July	$10.00	$10.30
2018	June	$9.30	$8.90
2018	May	$8.20	$7.90
2018	April	$9.10	$8.80
2018	March	$8.80	$10.20
2018	February	$10.60	$10.90
2018	January	$11.00	$10.10
2017	December	$10.20	$8.10
2017	November	$9.00	$7.10
2017	October	$8.20	$6.10
2017	September	$6.90	$5.80
2017	August	$5.80	$5.60
2017	July	$5.60	$5.60
2017	June	n/a	$5.60
2017	May	$5.70	$5.70
2017	April	$5.70	$5.90
2017	March	$6.30	$7.50
2017	February	$8.50	$8.80
2017	January	$8.40	$7.30
2016	December	$8.00	$6.80
2016	November	$7.00	$5.90
2016	October	$6.10	$5.70
2016	September	$5.70	n/a
2016	August	n/a	$5.40
2016	July	$5.80	$6.00