SINGAPORE, Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts ("Platts"), the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets, today announced the launch of its new Platts Analytics Weekly Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) Forecast Report.

Platts JKM® is the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) benchmark price assessment for spot physical cargoes. The new weekly JKM Forecast Report is powered by proprietary data and modeling from Platts Analytics and provides the expected drivers of supply and demand fundamentals and near-term outlook for JKM pricing.

In the decade since the launch of Platts JKM, Platts' focus has been to help bring increased transparency to the pricing of LNG as the market continues to liberalize and new types of price agreements emerge between buyers and sellers of LNG. LNG is one of the fastest growing commodity markets – the overall market has increased at an average of nine percent over the past four years and looks to continue its expansion in 2020.

Ira Joseph, Head of Global Gas & Power Analytics, S&P Global Platts said: "Against the backdrop of divergence from oil-related pricing, pricing based on LNG fundamentals is increasingly important. Market participants will need to understand what drives market fundamentals and what that means to forecast JKM prices. Despite Platts JKM having plunged to less than half the level it was assessed at the beginning of 2019, Platts Analytics expects further declines in 2020. Our analysis shows that this is attributed to a continued supply glut driven by new production from the US, and tepid demand growth in Asia in part driven by milder seasonal weather."

Key features of the report include:

- Price forecasts through the next 10 months, updated weekly
- Tables, charts and commentary, including best value along the forecast period
- An outlook on JKM versus current derivatives, such as the expected spread between JKM and European gas prices
- Analysis of the "pull" of LNG into Northeast Asia against global gas indices and trade flows
- Weather outlook and impact on demand

About S&P Global Platts

At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better-informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping.

S&P Global Platts is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.platts.com.

SOURCE S&P Global Platts