SINGAPORE: Cargoes of liquefied natural gas are trading in Asia below $4 per million British thermal units for the first time in several years, as new supply floods the global pool and as demand from North Asia remains weak, industry sources said.
The last time a cargo traded below $4 was likely about three to four years ago, two of the six industry sources said on Thursday.
Indian Oil Corp bought a cargo for delivery in the second half of August from commodity trader Trafigura at $3.69 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) through a tender, the sources said.
Separately, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) bought a cargo for delivery in early September from Vitol at $3.90 per mmBtu, the sources added.
Spot LNG prices in Asia were at $10 per mmBtu at the same time last year, after reaching a four-year high in June, 2018. <LNG-AS>
Companies do not typically comment on their trade deals.
"The market's pretty weak at the moment and the Indian cargo is probably a record low (price)," said one of the sources, a Singapore-based LNG trader. "Prices are weak in Europe and in the United States as well."
European spot LNG prices have been trading at a discount to the benchmark Dutch month-ahead gas price at levels below $3.40 per mmBtu this week.
New supply from Australia and the United States has been flooding the global LNG pool this year and is expected to keep prices low until next year at least, analysts have said.
IOC also bought a cargo for September delivery at $4.20 per mmBtu from Vitol, while PetroChina bought a cargo for September delivery from Vitol at $4.05 per mmBtu during the S&P Global Platts trading period on Wednesday, the sources added.
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