Japan’s spot LNG prices below $3 per mmBtu in April

Prices of the spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported into Japan during the month of March slipped below $3 per mmBtu in April.

Data from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) shows the contract-based price slipped to $2.4 per mmBtu down from $3.4 per mmBtu in March. This is a 29.4 per cent drop.

Compared to April 2019, the contract-based price slipped 53.9 per cent, down from $5.2 per mmBtu.

METI reported the arrival-based spot LNG price at $3 per mmBtu for April 2020. To remind, there were no arrival-based deals reported in March.

However, compared to April 2019 when the ministry reported a price of $5.9 per mmBtu, this is a 49.2 per cent drop.

Only spot LNG cargoes are taken into account in this assessment, excluding short, medium and long-term contract cargoes, as well as those linked to a particular price index.