Pricewatch | 12 Jan 2021 | Gas Matters Today

The Asian LNG bull run shows no sign of relenting. Barely a day goes by without a cargo changing hands for a new all-time record high price, with reports on Tuesday indicating Total sold a shipment for USD 39.30/MMBtu. Against this backdrop, CME’s month-ahead JKM futures contract yesterday rose another 14.2% to hit USD 19.70/MMBtu, another all-time high, having risen 53% since late November.

European gas hubs are also rising to compete for winter LNG cargoes. UK NBP and Dutch TTF yesterday rose 9-10% to hit the equivalent of USD 8.97/MMBtu and USD 7.89/MMBtu, respectively, marking highs not seen since October 2018.

Crude oil prices were largely static as hopes of a US stimulus and an expectation of a drawdown in US inventories were offset by concerns over the impact of Covid-19 on fuel demand. Brent closed down 0.6% at USD 55.66/barrel, while WTI was virtually unchanged.

Front-month futures and indexes at last close with day-on-day changes (click to enlarge):

Time references based on London GMT. Brent, WTI, NBP, TTF and EU CO₂ data from ICE. Henry Hub, JKM and API2 data from CME. Prices in USD/MMBtu based on exchange rates at last market close. All monetary values rounded to nearest whole cent/penny. Text and graphic copyright © Gas Strategies, all rights reserved.