Data released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has shown that the average contract price for spot LNG cargoes delivered to Japan in February this year fell to its lowest level since September 2017.
Reportedly, the average cost for shipped cargoes last month was US$7.50/million Btu. Spot prices for LNG LNG-AS in Asia have now fallen for 11 consecutive weeks and are down by over 30% from the start of the year. This is due to milder weather this winter, as well as plentiful supplies. Another major factor is that Japan planned the restart 9 of its 54 nuclear reactors
According to Reuters, the average price of spot cargoes that arrived in Japan in February was US$8.30/million Btu. This is reportedly the lowest level since May 2018.