This just in:  Spot prices for liquefied natural gas supplies to Japan dropped 2.2 per cent in June from May on lower demand and declining crude costs.

This is very bad news given the interest in developing a West Coast Canadian LNG export industry — the main driver behind the $6-billion takeover of Progress Energy Resources by Malaysian state oil company Petronas, for instance — but no one should be panicking just yet.

The story goes on to point out that the price, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, has fallen to 71,811 yen per metric ton.

That’s equivalent to $18.85 US per million British thermal units, 28 per cent higher than last year’s average and a whopping 5.8 times the closing price of $3.214 for gas in New York on Monday.

In other words, even after adjusting for transportation costs, there are still many very big reasons to build liquefaction facilities on the West Coast

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Raise your hand if you would accept 'just' $18.85/M from JP.

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