Tanker rates to ship LNG through the Pacific ocean climbed to a new record high last week amid robust demand for US LNG from Asia, market sources said. It cost a whopping $335,000 per day to charter a gas carrier to ship LNG from Australia to Japan. The jump comes as East Asia braced for colder-than-usual temperatures during the winter, which would likely spur gas and power demand. Some parts of China are expected to experience a cold snap, with temperatures forecast to drop by 6-10 degrees Celsius.
Asian benchmark LNG prices stood around $37 per MMBtu recently, having declined from a peak of more than $56 per MMBtu in early October. However, the current prices were still higher than the high last winter. Asian importers have been restocking LNG stocks to comfortable levels, learning from last winter’s freezing conditions which forced buyers to compete for spot cargoes. An industry survey showed that gas inventories in China, Japan, and South Korea were at or above the five-year average.
