GLOBAL LNG-Asian prices drop for 3rd week amid expectations of mild winter
Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell for a third consecutive week on expectations of a mild winter denting demand amid ample global supply, trade sources said.
Spot prices are at their lowest for this time of the year in a decade, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Prices for December delivery to Northeast Asia LNG-AS are estimated to be about $5.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down 20 cents from last week, said several sources who are market participants.
Prices for January delivery are estimated to be about $6.30 per mmBtu, they added.
“Previously, when winter approaches there is usually certain demand that comes in but this winter, there seems to be much more supply than demand,” an LNG trader said.
Australia’s Ichthys LNG plant and Russia’s Sakhalin 2 plant offered a cargo each for loading in December and January, industry sources said.
Argentina’s YPF issued a spot cargo earlier this week which will likely land in Europe, the sources said.
Nigeria LNG may have sold a Nov. 10 to 11 loading cargo to Cheniere, one source said, though this could not immediately be confirmed.
Low spot prices attracted some demand from India, with Indian Oil Corp and Reliance Industries buying a cargo each for delivery in December, traders said.
IOC likely paid close to $5 per mmBtu for a cargo to be delivered into Dahej terminal on Dec. 3, while Reliance could have paid about $5.20 per mmBtu for a Dec. 2-4 cargo, they added.
IOC is expected to issue another tender seeking a cargo for mid-December delivery, they said.
India’s GSPC likely did not award a tender seeking a Dec. 6 to 10 cargo, trade sources added.
In Southeast Asia, state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) issued its first tender to buy two spot LNG cargoes, industry sources said.
EGAT is looking for one cargo to be delivered in December 2019 and one in April 2020 in a tender which will close on Nov. 11, one of the sources said.
The Singapore-based trading unit of Thailand’s PTT is seeking one cargo a month for delivery over a year from March 2020, industry sources said.
This is likely for trading purposes rather than to meet domestic demand, one of them said.
Chinese state-run utility Guangdong Energy Group is seeking 16 cargoes for delivery over four years from 2020, its first such medium-term requirement, two industry sources said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan, additional reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)