In April, the Platts Market on Close (MOC) for Asian LNG experienced a surge in activity, coinciding with a notable decline in JKM prices. The Platts assessed JKM, which acts as the benchmark price for LNG delivered to Northeast Asia, averaged $13.644/MMBtu from February 17 to March 14. This represents an 8.7% decrease from the previous month, during which JKM had reached multi-month highs.
During the April pricing period, total bids, offers, and trades in the cargo MOC assessment surged to a record 388, reflecting a 37.6% month-on-month increase and a remarkable 139.5% year-on-year uptick. The previous peak was recorded in January 2025, which registered 367 activities. This month involved 201 bids, 174 offers, and 13 trades, with 16 entities participating.
Of these, ten entities reported 12 trades for April deliveries specifically to the Japan-Korea-Taiwan-China region. The trades included a significant amount of LNG, approximately 845,000 mt, with the majority linked to the JKM balance-month (balmo-ND) contract. Notably, the average cash differentials for these trades were 3.7 cents/MMBtu against the malmo-ND contract.
The rise in index-linked bids and offers, now at 65%, marked a growth from the previous month’s figure of 59.3%. The decline in Asian spot LNG prices is largely attributed to bearish market sentiment, driven by considerations regarding the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations. As the region entered a shoulder season, demand for spot cargoes remained weak.
Buying interest was mainly observed in South Korea, with Kogas reportedly securing additional cargoes for May. In the derivatives MOC segment, April’s pricing period reported 1,622 bids, offers, and trades, up 3.3% month-on-month and 70.4% year-on-year, reaching a four-month high. The bulk of this activity was concentrated on the JKM balmo-ND contract, with notable participation from various key market players.
Overall liquidity in financial exchanges reflected healthy trading volumes, corresponding to approximately 17.82 million mt during the assessment period.