Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices yesterday extended their gains as concern mounted that Russia’s announcement of maintenance on a key pipeline to Europe would further tighten global supplies.
Producers offered LNG spot cargoes for winter above US$60 per million British thermal units yesterday, traders said.
The Japan-Korea Marker spot benchmark slipped 1.3 percent to US$55.277 per million British thermal units on Friday before Gazprom PJSC’s announcement, they said, citing data from S&P Global.
Gazprom on Friday said that it would stop the key Nord Stream pipeline for three days of maintenance on Aug. 31, helping push Europe’s benchmark price to a record.
LNG traders in Asia have expressed concern that the link would not return to service as planned, which would further tighten global markets after Russia progressively cut deliveries to Europe, its biggest customer.
Gazprom said that shipments through the link under the Baltic Sea to Germany would be restored to current levels, equal to about 20 percent of capacity, “upon completion of the work and the absence of technical malfunctions.”
Asian spot LNG prices have gained for five straight weeks and are trading at triple last year’s level.
Utilities in Europe and Asia are in direct competition for LNG shipments from suppliers including the US, Qatar and Nigeria, and traders are getting locked in bidding wars to attract cargoes.
Japan and South Korea are looking to procure more spot LNG for the winter, which has helped push prices to the highest level for this time of year.
Meanwhile, China might struggle to meet peak power demand following hydropower disruptions in Sichuan Province, Bloomberg Intelligence said yesterday.
Both LNG and coal prices are expected to continue rising in the near term, it said.
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