LNG from Asia is at a 4-months high

Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices rose to a nearly four-month high this week as cargoes were pulled in Europe amid firm demand for inventory replenishment and power generation in the summer, trade sources said Friday. The average price of LNG for a June delivery to Northeast Asia LNG-AS was estimated at around $ 9.65 per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu), an 80 cents increase from the previous week, they said. The price of a load shipped in July was estimated at around $ 9.75 per mmBtu, they added. Firm demand from Europe and China as buyers replenished reduced gas supplies supported prices, traders said. China's LNG imports rose about 11% month-on-month to 6.48 million tons in April, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon. Still, buyers in India rerouted cargos as rising coronavirus cases dampened industrial gas demand in the country and limited price hikes. A total of seven ships targeting India have been diverted so far, said Rebecca Chia, an analyst at data analytics firm Kpler. Several tenders for cargoes to be loaded in June were also seen this week. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) offered a load for June 18 and 20, while Indonesian Pertamina offered loads to load Bontang in June and July, sources said. China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) offered three loads for delivery to Northeast Asia in June and July on the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, while Russia's Sakhalin Energy offered a shipment for June 14, they added. In Australia, Ichthys LNG Export offered a cargo for delivery from mid-May to June, while Darwin LNG sold a cargo for shipment from June 5-7 at a price of about $ 8.90 per mmBtu on an FOB basis, it was said. Oman LNG sold a batch for loading in late June through early July at around $ 8.50 to $ 8.60 on a FOB basis, one of the sources said. Pakistan State Oil bought a batch for delivery May 25-26 at a price of 14.521% of the Brent crude oil futures, a second source said.