Spot charter rates for the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier fleet decreased further this week, and European prices dropped for the first time in six weeks. Last week, Spot charter rates dropped below $50,000 per day. LNG freight rates remain low despite the fact that LNG carriers are still avoiding the Suez Canal due to the situation in the Red Sea and the lower LNG transits in the Panama Canal due to a drought situation, reports LNG Prime.
European prices drop
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG front month dropped compared to the last week.
He said this is a $0.277/MMBtu decrease in DES LNG price, the first weekly decrease in SparkNWE DES LNG price in six weeks.Levels of gas in storages in Europe are very high following a mild winter.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU rose and they were 59.44 percent full on April 3. Gas storages were 58.81 percent full on March 27, and 55.87 percent full on April 3 last year.
The EU-27 ended the winter with record-high stocks in gas storages.
US LNG exports and Asian LNG prices up
US LNG exports rose in the week ending April 3 compared to the week before while the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas still operates with only one train.
The LNG terminal operator told LNG Prime last month that its third train is currently online and producing LNG, while the “train 2 liquefaction unit is now offline and our train 1 liquefaction unit will be taken down imminently.”
This week, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia, rose slightly when compared to the last week, according to Platts data.
JKM for May settled at $9.545/MMBtu on Thursday.
Japan’s METI recently said that Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation as of March 31 stood at 1.48 million tonnes, down 0.4 million tonnes from the previous week.
Kpler said this week that March LNG imports rose in Asia and declined in Europe, with price-sensitive Asian buyers returning to the market.
Asian LNG imports hit 24.29 million mt, with China leading at 6.62 million mt, seeking cheaper spot LNG cargoes, it said.
In contrast, Europe’s LNG imports fell to 9.12 million mt, the lowest since September 2023, attributed to warmer weather and high gas reserves, Kpler said.
LNG futures traded volumes jump
In the physical market, Japan-Korea-Taiwan-China, or JKTC, imported about 56.39 million mt, or 888 cargoes, in Q1, according to data by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Meanwhile, the traded volumes cleared in March totaled 82,542 lots, down 10.07 percent on the month, but up 58.32 percent on the year.
This is equivalent to about 15.87 million mt, or 250 cargoes, it said.
JKM rose on the month, averaging $9.152/MMBtu in March, compared with $8.756/MMBtu in February, Platts said.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: LNG Prime
