Japan Oct Spot LNG Price Rises to 8-Month High

Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNGLF) (LNG) spot cargoes for Japan, the world's top buyer, rose in October to an eight-month high, official data showed on Thursday.

The average price of spot LNG contracted last month was $6.10 per million British thermal units, up from $5.70 in September, monthly data by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed.

Asian LNG prices <LNG-AS> extended gains in October, hitting $6.95 per mmBtu by the end of the month, as expectations of strong winter demand from South Korea added to appetite from India and Taiwan.

METI surveys spot LNG cargoes bought by Japanese utilities and other importers, but excludes cargo-by-cargo deals linked to benchmarks such as the U.S. natural gas Henry Hub index.

It only publishes a price if there is a minimum of two eligible cargoes reported by buyers.

Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori