Japan’s spot LNG prices drop after brief uptick

Prices of spot LNG cargoes contracted or delivered into Japan during the month of August dipped again after a slight improvement in June and July.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry shows that the contract-based price in August was at $3.4 per mmBtu. This compares to $4.2 per mmBtu in July and $3.8 per mmBtu in June.

When compared to the corresponding month in 2019, when the price was $5.3 per mmBtu, the contract-based price dropped 35.9 per cent.

The arrival-based price also dropped from $4.1 per mmBtu in July, to $2.6 per mmBtu in August 2020. This was a 36.7 per cent drop.

When compared to $5.5 per mmBtu price of spot LNG arriving into Japan in August 2019, the price more than halved.

The ministry surveys only spot LNG cargoes purchased by Japanese utilities and other importers.

It excludes cargo deals linked to a particular price index such as the US Henry Hub and the JKM.