Asia's liquefied natural gas imports rebounded last week, led by stronger deliveries to China ahead of the Golden Week holiday, while rising spot prices curbed demand in South Asia, Vortexa said in a Tuesday note.
Total Asian arrivals rose to 5.5 million metric tons across 88 cargoes, more than 10% above the four-week average. China received 1.9 million tons, its highest volume since July, while South Korea's imports reached a one-month high. Japan's arrivals fell to their lowest since July, although inventories held by major power producers remained more than 20% above the five-year September average.
Regional spot LNG prices climbed to an average of $28.60 per million British thermal units, weighing on price-sensitive buyers in India, where imports were nearly 15% below the four-week average. Pakistan received no cargoes during the week but is due to take a Qatar-origin shipment shortly.
Europe's LNG arrivals were steady at 1.9 million tons across 32 cargoes, with French imports recovering after strikes affecting the Dunkirk terminal ended. European gas storage was 70% full, 16 percentage points below the five-year average. The price spread between Northeast Asian and Northwest European LNG widened to $2.20/MMBtu, reopening opportunities for flexible Atlantic cargoes to move toward Asia.
Three LNG carriers made confirmed outbound transits of the Strait of Hormuz, including two Qatar-origin cargoes. Qatar loaded four cargoes at Ras Laffan and delivered two Qatar-origin shipments to Kuwait. Meanwhile, US LNG exports edged up to 2.5 million tons despite planned maintenance at the Cameron and Cove Point terminals.