LNG bunker prices are up in both Rotterdam and Singapore, drawing support from warmer weather and increased gas demand in parts of Europe and Asia.

Changes in weekly LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam up by $34/mt to $761/mt
• Singapore up by $15/mt to $753/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has surged with support from a rising front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, which has gone up by $0.65/MMBtu on the week to $12.04/MMBtu ($626/mt).

TTF has in turn been supported by “expectations of a resolution to trade friction through the US-China talks and rising oil market prices,” according to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

European gas prices have also found support from warmer weather forecasts.

“Temperatures are set to jump above average in most of Northern Europe by mid-next week,” commented Energi Danmark.

As of 6 June, EU underground gas storage levels had climbed to 51%, up from 48% the previous week. However, levels remain 29% lower than the same time last year, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

“Storage still remains some distance away from year-ago levels,” analysts from ING Bank noted, adding that this leaves “the region with a fairly big task to hit storage targets.”

They also pointed to reduced gas flows from Norway - due to both outages and planned maintenance - as adding to supply concerns.

Greg Molnár, gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), echoed this, saying, “Lower Russian piped gas supplies, together with unplanned outages in Norway kept the supply side tight.”

Singapore

Singapore’s LNG bunker price has risen by $15/mt over the past week, reaching $753/mt. Despite rising, Singapore's price premium of $11/mt over Rotterdam a week ago has now flipped to an $8/mt discount.

Singapore LNG bunker prices generally track the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM). The front-month JKM contract has moved $0.29/MMBtu higher on the week, to $12.45/MMBtu ($647/mt).

The upward price movement has largely been driven by “the expectation of increased summer demand, a decrease in supply due to Egypt's purchase of spot cargoes, and strong buying interest from trading companies,” according to JOGMEC.

In Asia, major LNG importers such as Japan and South Korea typically import more during the summer months than in the spring to meet higher power generation needs from increased air conditioning use. Temperatures in the region usually rise from June through September.

“Weather [conditions] across northeast Asia, especially Japan, are expected to turn to hotter-than-average for the remainder of the month,” Rystad Energy noted.

Japan’s LNG inventories for power generation stood at 2.26 million mt on 1 June, up by 100,000 mt from the previous week, according to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Other LNG bunker news

Six LNG-capable vessels were ordered in May, and there are currently 736 LNG-capable vessels in operation, with another 624 scheduled for delivery by 2033, according to DNV's alternative fuel tally.

Norwegian vehicle carrier United European Car Carriers (UECC) has taken delivery of an LNG dual-fuel pure car and truck carrier (PCTC).

By Tuhin Roy

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