The Northeast Asian assessed spot LNG price JKM (August delivery) for last week (30 June – 4 July) rose to mid-USD 12s/MBtu on 4 July from low-USD 12s/MBtu the previous weekend (27 June).
JKM rose moderately due to growing competition for cargoes with Europe, tightening supply caused by rising demand in Egypt and Argentina, and increasing demand in Japan amid rising temperatures, although buying appetite in Northeast Asia remained limited.
In China, spot LNG continued to lack price competitiveness compared to pipeline gas, resulting in subdued demand. METI announced on 2 July that Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation as of 29 June stood at 2.15 million tonnes, down 0.12 million tonnes from the previous week.
The European gas price TTF (August delivery) for last week (30 June – 4 July) rose to USD 11.56/MBtu on 4 July from USD 11.35/MBtu the previous weekend (27 June).
TTF increased in the first half of the week due to rising cooling demand amid high temperatures and expected declines in wind power generation, but turned slightly downward in the second half of the week due to moderated weather forecasts, stable gas supplies from Norway, and recovering wind output.
According to AGSI+, the EU-wide underground gas storage was 59.97% on 4 July, up from 57.77% the previous weekend, down 23.6% from the same period last year, and down 13.1% over the five-year average.
The U.S. gas price HH (August delivery) for last week (30 June – 4 July) fell to USD 3.3/MBtu on 4 July from USD 3.7/MBtu the previous weekend (27 June). HH remained on a downward trend throughout the week as heatwave-related demand in the eastern U.S. eased, while gas inventories continued to build steadily.
The EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on 3 July showed U.S. natural gas inventories as of 27 June at 2,953 Bcf, up 55 Bcf from the previous week, down 5.6% from the same period last year, and 6.2% above the five-year average.
Updated: July 7
Source: JOGMEC
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