Platts: Prices of Asia LNG for April Delivery Fell 7.9% on Weak Asian Demand

SINGAPORE, March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for April delivery to Asia fell 7.9% from March to $17.636 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), the first drop in the monthly average since October 2012, according to the latest monthly Platts Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) for month-ahead delivery. Price declines were attributed to weak demand as traditional buyers relied on previously-negotiated term contract supplies to meet spring needs, which are seasonally low. 

This followed an all-time high of $19.85/MMBtu in March and the month's average of $19.139/MMBtu, which was buoyed by South America's competing strong demand. The monthly JKM assessments are prices of LNG for month-ahead delivery to Asia and are an average of the daily JKM price assessments reported by Platts. The monthly average Platts JKM for delivery in April was assessed between February 18 and March 15.

"With buyers in such key markets as Japan and South Korea amply covered by term contract supplies for April, those who have some space for additional cargoes have the flexibility to wait on the chance that prices will come down," said Sarah Cottle, Platts editorial power director, Asia and Europe. "Furthermore, it appears LNG sellers have plenty of ready supply available for April delivery, despite ongoing power outages at both Nigeria LNG and Norway's Hammerfest LNG plants."  

On a year-on-year basis, the April Platts JKM was up 16.2% from last April's $14.775/MMBtu, marking the third consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Meanwhile, the month-ahead prices of thermal coal and fuel oil, which are substitute fuels burned by Asian utilities, dropped 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively, according to Platts' latest monthly data.   

Source: Platts

*Referred to as month-ahead, the figures in the table are monthly averages of daily values assessed by Platts from February 18^th to March 15^th. Platts JKM rolls on the 16^th of each calendar month.

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

Platts' monthly reports on Asia LNG prices and market developments are typically published shortly after the 15^th of each month.

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, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets.  A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), 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 The McGraw-Hill Companies: The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a financial intelligence and education company, signed an agreement to sell its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC in November 2012. Following the sale closing, expected in early 2013, the Company will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval) and will be a powerhouse in benchmarks, content and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company's leading brands will include: Standard & Poor's, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, Crisil, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company will have approximately 17,000 employees in more than 30 countries.  Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

SOURCE Platts

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