04-12-2016, 10:13 PM
March average spot LNG arrival price falls to lowest in 2 yrs
* Japan spot LNG arrival price falls to $6.80/mmBtu for
March
* Japan arrivals more than $2 higher than Asia spot prices
(Adds details, table)
TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) - The average price for liquefied
natural gas (LNG) spot cargoes arriving in Japan in March fell
to the lowest since the trade ministry started publishing
figures two years ago, official data showed on Monday.
The average price for LNG delivered to Japan, the world's
biggest buyer of the fuel, fell by 10 cents from February to
$6.80 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), according to
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
This was more than $2 higher than spot Asian LNG prices
LNG-AS that fell to the low-$4 per mmBtu - lowest in at least
six years - last month as demand in Asia remained slow as more
supply from the U.S. and Australia hit the market.
METI did not publish average prices for LNG spot cargoes
contracted last month for delivery in months ahead due to a lack
of trades, another sign of tepid global demand for the fuel.
METI surveys spot LNG cargoes bought by Japanese utilities
and other importers, while excluding 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.
Prices are converted to a delivery on an ex-ship basis.
The following table lists the monthly average prices in
mmBtu for contracted and arriving spot LNG cargoes.
Year Month Contract price Arrival price
2016 Mar n/a $6.80
2016 Feb $6.50 $6.90
2016 Jan $7.10 $7.90
2015 Dec $7.40 $7.50
2015 Nov $7.40 $7.50
2015 Oct $7.60 $7.90
2015 Sept $7.40 $7.70
2015 Aug $8.10 $7.70
2015 July $7.90 n/a
2015 June $7.60 $7.60
2015 May n/a n/a
2015 April $7.60 $7.90
2015 Mar $8.00 $7.60
2015 Feb $7.60 $10.70
2015 Jan $10.20 $13.90
2014 Dec $11.60 $15.10
2014 Nov $14.40 $14.30
2014 Oct $15.30 $12.40
2014 Sept $13.20 $11.30
2014 Aug $11.40 $12.50
2014 July $11.80 $13.80
2014 June $13.80 $15.00
2014 May $14.80 $16.30
2014 April $16.00 $18.30
2014 March $18.30 n/a
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick and
Tom Hogue)