Platts: Asia Spot LNG Prices for September Delivery Rose 3.5% Month-over-Month on Production Outages

SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Monthly average prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for September delivery to Asia rose 3.5% from August to $16.005 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu), as production outages supported higher offers and bids, according to the latest monthly Platts Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) for month-ahead delivery. The monthly average Platts JKM for delivery in September was assessed over the period of July 16 to August 15.

This marked the second consecutive month-over-month gain in the monthly average JKM.

On a year-over-year basis, the average September JKM increased 18.4%.

At the beginning of the assessment period, the JKM prices were supported by short supplies due to production limitations. Nigeria LNG lifted its force majeure only on July 26, despite production resuming on July 13, and operations at Australian Woodside Petroleum's Pluto LNG liquefaction plant also resumed around mid-July.

"But both restarts did little to rein bullish sentiment on near-term prices, given the time needed to ramp up production rates and reschedule affected deliveries," said Sarah Cottle, editorial director of power at Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider and a premier source of benchmark price references. "However, the spot market became more bearish as supply gradually outstripped demand towards the end of the assessment period, with a series of sell tenders issued in the spot market over the past few weeks."

Meanwhile, the September spot prices of thermal coal and fuel oil, which are substitute fuels burned by Asian utilities, saw year-on-year gains in prices. However, compared to the previous month, thermal coal prices dropped 1.9%, while fuel oil rose 0.6%, respectively, according to the Platts' latest data for September.

The Platts JKM is an assessment of LNG prices for spot cargoes delivered to Japan and South Korea, based on the most recent trades and/or bids and offers from buyers and sellers in the open market prevailing at the close of the trading day. The monthly JKM assessments are month-ahead delivered prices and are an average of the daily JKM price assessments reported by Platts.

For more information on natural gas or the methodology used by Platts in its power assessments, visit the Platts website www.platts.com.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets.  Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency.  Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets.  A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI) is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power, and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

SOURCE Platts

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