LNG stocks held by Japan’s major power utilities extended gains in the week to Aug. 14, rising 3.9% week on week to 2.39 million mt, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Aug. 17.
The Aug. 14 LNG stocks were up from 2.3 million mt Aug. 7, marking the fifth consecutive week-on-week increase, METI data showed.
METI does not have comparable Aug. 14 data for the previous year. However, at the end of August 2021, inventories stood at 2.43 million mt, while the average over fiscal year 2017-18 (April-March) to FY 2021-22 for end-August was 1.85 million mt.
Spot electricity prices traded on the Japan Electric Power Exchange, which had gained strength on the back of heat waves in recent days, retreated Aug. 17, with the 24-hour day-ahead price at Yen 22.18/kWh for Aug. 18, down 9.2% from Yen 24.43/kWh week on week.
JEPX marked the day-ahead daytime (8 am-10 pm Japan Standard Time) price at Yen 24.55/kWh, down 13.5% from Yen 28.38/kWh the previous week, while the day-ahead peak fell approximately 0.8% to Yen 20.94/kWh over the same period.
Meanwhile, spot LNG prices have edged higher on healthy demand and higher prices in the Atlantic from reduced supply.
The Platts JKM for the first half of October was assessed at $58.935/MMBtu, while the second half of October was assessed at $59.174/MMBtu on Aug. 17. Platts had assessed H1 October and H2 October at $46.587/MMBtu and $46.756/MMBtu, respectively, on Aug. 10.
Source: Spglobal.com
