LNG

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports declined last month at the expense of thermal coal imports even as LNG cost the nation 20 percent less than a year ago and US shipments to Japan overtook those from Russia for the first time.

Asian LNG spot cargo prices firmed recently amid tentative signs of some peak summer demand. However, the problem remains that for many buyers, the cost is still too high, said Reuters in a report.  

Japanese spot liquefied natural gas cargoes were contracted for Japan last month at a cost of $3.90 per million British thermal units less than in April 2018 and down $1.20 per MMBtu versus March 2019.

Japanese spot cargoes contracted in April to arrive in Japan at a later date cost an average of $9.10 per MMBtu compared with $5.70 per MMBtu in April 2017, a rise of 59 percent and along with oil-linked, long-term contract deliveries will be adding to the nation’s energy import costs as oil prices rebound.

Japanese spot LNG cargoes that arrived in Japan in March cost an average of $10.20 per MMBtu compared with $7.70 per MMBtu a year before, a rise of almost 33 percent and along with long-term contract deliveries will be adding to Japan’s energy import costs as oil and gas prices recover.

Japanese government figures show that average spot liquefied natural gas cargo prices for Northeast Asia in December rose by $2.20 per million British thermal units to $10.20 per MMBtu compared with the same month a year ago.

Japanese liquefied natural gas imports jumped for a second straight month in 2017, increasing by 4.8 percent in February with prices also rising for both long-term contracted cargoes and spot shipments.