SINGAPORE, April 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Prices of spot market liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery to northeast Asia averaged $4.241 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu) for May, according to latest Platts Japan/Korea Marker (Platts JKM(TM)) data for month-ahead delivery.

The May figure reflects the daily JKM assessment published by Platts, the leading the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, between March 16 and April 15, expressed as a monthly average.

At $4.241/MMBtu, the April JKM was 42.5% below prices for the same delivery month in 2015. The JKM for April delivery was also at the lowest monthly-average level seen since July 2009, when the monthly-average for August delivered cargoes was $4.226/MMBtu, Platts historical records show.

Over the course of the assessment period, buyers in North Asia continued to have limited demand for incremental supplies, instead relying mostly on contracted volume to meet their downstream demand. Most of the activity came from buyers in India and the Middle East, who had appetite for LNG spot cargoes at these lower prices and who expected to have demand for incremental spot market supply demand over the next few months.

"There has been smooth-flowing production from Sabine Pass in the U.S., which has so far shipped 6 cargoes since starting in May, and Angola is due to restart and load its first cargo by the end of April," said Max Gostelow, pricing analyst of Asia LNG at Platts. "Sentiment for May and June remained bearish due to expectations of production flows from these projects as well as multiple unsold cargoes in the Asia-Pacific region, which combined will more than compensate for volumes lost when Australia's Gorgon LNG plant shut unexpectedly in early April following problems with its propane refrigerant circuitry."

The price of fuel oil, a possible competing fuel to LNG, decreased 43.8% year over year for the latest delivery month, while thermal coal was down 17.1% from the same month in 2015.

    Platts Spot JKM and Substitute Fuel Prices (Monthly Averages)*
    -------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                                 May-16                  May-15                 Apr-16         Year-On-Year            Month-On-Month
                                                                                                                                                            Change %                  Change %
                                                                                                                                         ---                -------                   --------

    JKM ($/MMBtu)                                                                        4.241                    7.380                  4.460                   -42.5                        -4.9
    -------------                                                                        -----                    -----                  -----                   -----                        ----

    Qinhuangdao coal ($/MMBtu)                                                           2.610                    3.150                  2.558                   -17.1                         2.1
    --------------------------                                                           -----                    -----                  -----                   -----                         ---

    180 CST fuel oil ($/MMBtu)                                                           4.688                    8.334                  4.193                   -43.8                        11.8
    --------------------------                                                           -----                    -----                  -----                   -----                        ----


    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: 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 Platts. The monthly reports on Asia LNG prices and market developments are typically published shortly after the 15(th) of each month.

Media Contacts:
Global, Americas, Asia: Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917 331 4607, kathleen.tanzy@platts.com

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SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts