Prices of spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) for December delivery to northeast Asia averaged $7.280 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu) for December, according to the latest Platts Japan/Korea Marker (Platts JKM®) data for month-ahead delivery.

The figure reflects the daily JKM as assessed and published by Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider and a premier source of benchmark price references. The December-delivery value reflects the daily JKM between October 16 and November 13 and expressed as a monthly average.

The marker, which gained 8.7% month over month, started the assessment period at $6.80/MMBtu. It steadily gained ground during the course of the month to close at $7.65/MMBtu on November 13, as new sources of demand emerged ahead of the winter heating season.

"Buyers in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan continued to show limited interest for incremental cargoes," said Max Gostelow, Platts pricing analyst of Asia LNG. "Most buyers were heard to be grappling with high inventories following lower-than-predicted power demand. But demand from traders with short positions and strong demand from buyers in India, Pakistan and the Middle East, combined with a lack of available cargoes, resulted in upward price pressure on the spot market."

Little price help from China and North Asia. Only a few buyers in North Asia entered the spot market to buy several cargoes. China's CNOOC launched its second sell tender from its equity position at Australia's QC LNG. Most of the end user demand for December was from South Asia and the Middle East, where LNG prices were trading at a discount to the Asia-Pacific basin. End users in India, Pakistan and Kuwait collectively tendered and/or launched expressions of interest for an estimated 14 cargoes for December-January delivery.

Meanwhile, the price of possible competing fuels -- thermal coal and fuel oil were down. Thermal coal was lower by 3.2% on a month-on-month basis, while fuel oil was down by 0.8% month over month during the October 16 to November 13 assessment period.

The Platts JKM is an assessment of LNG prices for spot cargoes delivered to Japan and South Korea, based on the most recent trades and/or bids and offers from buyers and sellers in the open market prevailing at the close of the trading day. The monthly JKM assessments are month-ahead delivered prices and are an average of the daily JKM price assessments reported by Platts. The monthly reports on Asia LNG prices and market developments are typically published shortly after the 15th of each month.
Source: Platts