Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has remained steady, supported by a stable Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, while Singapore’s price has inched lower due to market sentiment surrounding US-Russia talks on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Changes in weekly LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam steady at $823/mt
• Singapore down by $9/mt to $805/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has remained steady compared to last week, influenced by the front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, a key European gas benchmark, which has also remained broadly stable.

According to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), “the forecast of rising temperatures across Europe,” along with “stable supplies from Norway and a decline in demand,” put downward pressure on TTF. However, this was offset by “increased geopolitical risks, such as Russia's attack on Ukrainian infrastructure.”

“On the gas market, fluctuations were rather modest… A lot of focus still centers around the Russian-Ukrainian wars,” Energi Danmark noted.

As of 21 March, underground gas storage across the EU stood at 33.8%, down from 35.2% the previous week and 42.6% lower than the same period last year, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe, as cited by JOGMEC.

Singapore

Singapore’s LNG bunker price has fallen for the fifth consecutive week, reaching $805/mt.

According to JOGMEC, most market watchers are awaiting “the outcome of the talks between the U.S. and Russia on the Ukrainian war,” a sentiment that has put downward pressure on prices.

LNG inventories for power generation stood at 1.56 million mt on 19 March, marking a decrease of 220,000 mt from the previous week, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Asian LNG bunker prices generally follow the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM), which declined by $0.25/MMBtu over the same period, bringing the front-month contract to $13.39/MMBtu ($696/mt).

Meanwhile, Singapore’s slight $9/mt discount to Rotterdam has doubled within a week to $18/mt.

By Tuhin Roy

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