TOKYO: The average contract price for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes shipped to Japan last month fell to the lowest level in 18 months, according to data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The average for shipped cargoes in February was $7.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the lowest since September 2017, METI said on Monday.

Spot prices for LNG <LNG-AS> in Asia have fallen for 11 weeks in a row and are down more than 30 percent since the start of the year, as a milder-than-expected winter and plentiful supplies drove down prices.

The average price of spot LNG cargoes that arrived in Japan last month was $8.30 per mmBtu, the lowest since May last year.

METI surveys spot LNG cargoes bought by Japanese utilities and other importers, but excludes cargo-by-cargo deals linked to benchmarks such as the U.S. natural gas Henry Hub index.

It only publishes a price if there is a minimum of two eligible cargoes reported by buyers.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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