SINGAPORE, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Prices of spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery to northeast Asia averaged $4.461 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu) for June, according to the latest S&P Global Platts Japan/Korea Marker (Platts JKM(TM)) data for month-ahead delivery.

The figure reflects the daily JKM assessment published by S&P Global Platts, the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, between April 18 and May 13, expressed as a monthly average.

At $4.461/MMBtu, the June JKM was 37.4% below prices for the same delivery month in 2015. The JKM was mixed over the course of the assessment period. After starting the period at $4/MMBtu on April 18, it steadily climbed to reach a peak of $4.75/MMBtu on April 28, before softening to $4.45/MMBtu by May 9.

"At such low price levels, offers to Asia started to become more influenced by European onshore gas markets," said Max Gostelow, pricing analyst of Asia LNG at S&P Global Platts. "As valued at the U.K. National Balancing Point (NBP) hub, front-month natural gas futures averaged $4.181/MMBtu during the April 18-May 13 period, up 6.7% from the previous month's average of $3.918/MMBtu. This caused the JKM-NBP price spread to narrow to $0.35/MMBtu for the assessment period, down 5.5% from a month earlier."

At such a tight price spread, offers cargoes delivered to the Asia region tended to rise, also supported by U.K. NBP natural gas and stronger Brent crude oil prices, Gostelow said.

In the financial markets, Platts JKM swaps picked up activity in April, breaking the previous record amount of trading activity set just two months earlier in February. A record 1,295 lots of the JKM swaps changed hands and were cleared through Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in April, the equivalent of more than four standard-size LNG cargoes, according to ICE data. April's activity eclipsed the previous record by more than 56%.

The price of fuel oil, a possible competing fuel to LNG, decreased 44.7% year over year, while thermal coal was down 8.7% from the same month in 2015.

    S&P Global Platts Spot JKM and Substitute Fuel Prices (Monthly Averages)
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                         Jun-16       Jun-15       May-16       Year-Over-Year Change %    Month-Over-Month Change %
                                                                         ------       ------       ------        ----------------------      ------------------------

    JKM ($/MMBtu)                                                               4.461        7.120        4.241                      -37.4                            5.2
    -------------                                                               -----        -----        -----                      -----                            ---

    Qinhuangdao coal ($/MMBtu)                                                  2.615        2.864        2.610                       -8.7                            0.2
    --------------------------                                                  -----        -----        -----                       ----                            ---

    180 CST fuel oil ($/MMBtu)                                                  5.393        9.746        4.688                      -44.7                           15.0
    --------------------------                                                  -----        -----        -----                      -----                           ----

Note: U.K. and U.S. front month futures roll at the end of each calendar month. Platts JKM rolls on the 16th of each calendar month. Source: S&P Global Platts data

The Platts JKM(TM) 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 S&P Global Platts. The monthly reports on Asia LNG prices and market developments are typically published shortly after the 15(th) of each month.

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SOURCE S&P Global Platts

SOURCE: S&P Global Platts