美国天然气价格首次超过亚欧市场基准价格

据路透社5月7日报道，美国天然气价格本周首次超过欧洲和亚洲的基准价格，导致美国液化天然气(LNG)买家因此取消了订单。

5月5日，根据Refinitiv Eikon所有三份合同的最新定价数据，路易斯安那州Henry Hub benchmark 6月份交割的前一个月天然气期货首次结算了日本/韩国市场（JKM）和荷兰产权转让设施指数TTF(天然气)，Henry Hub期货合约结算价较JKM上涨约11美分/百万英热，这是美国合约价格首次超过亚洲基准。

5月5日，美国期货价格也较6月份的TTF合约上涨约32美分/百万英热。自4月30日以来，Henry Hub的价格每天都高于欧洲基准，这是该指数10年来首次收于TTF之上。

亚洲和欧洲的液化天然气买家已经取消了6月份从美国进口的约20艘液化天然气货物。由于美国天然气价格高于在欧洲和亚洲部分地区的售价，这些买家取消了美国的天然气供应。

能源交易员表示，6月份近月合约的最新价格走势，标志着现货市场终于赶上了远期市场的交易。

数周以来，美国夏季的天然气一直在欧洲和亚洲的一些中心进行交易。不过，美国大多数液化天然气已经提前几年卖给了使用这些燃料的公用事业公司，因此美国的一些货物将继续运往欧洲和亚洲。

战略与国际研究中心(CSIS)高级研究员Nikos Tsafos 表示：“欧洲市场的远期曲线在冬季仍显示出上升趋势。所以，如果有储备，可以把天然气带到欧洲，储存到冬天，然后再销售出去赚取利润。”

Refinitiv称，5月迄今美国LNG平均每日出口70亿立方英尺，低于4月8.1亿立方英尺/天的四个月低点，也低于2月8.7亿立方英尺/天的历史高点。

邹勤 摘译自 路透社

原文如下：

LNG buyers cancel cargoes as U.S. natgas becomes most expensive in world

U.S. natural gas prices topped benchmarks in both Europe and Asia for the first time ever this week, giving buyers of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) another reason to cancel cargoes.

Front-month gas futures for June delivery at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana settled over both the Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) and the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands for the first time on May 5, according to the most recent pricing data available for all three contracts on the Refinitiv Eikon.

Henry Hub futures for June settled about 11 cents per million British thermal units (mmBtu) over JKM on May 5, the first time the U.S. contract ever topped the Asian benchmark.

U.S. futures also closed about 32 cents per mmBtu over the June TTF contract on May 5. Henry Hub has settled above the European benchmark every day since April 30, which was the first time it closed over TTF in 10 years.

LNG buyers in Asia and Europe have already canceled the loading of around 20 cargoes from the United States in June as government lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus have cut gas demand around the world.

Those buyers canceled U.S. cargoes when forward prices made it more expensive to buy gas in the United States than it could be sold for in parts of Europe and Asia.

Energy traders said the latest front-month price moves for the June front-month contracts marked the point at which the spot market finally caught up to trading in forward markets.

U.S. gas for the summer has been trading over some European and Asian hubs for weeks.

Most U.S. LNG, however, has already been sold forward years in advance to utilities consuming the fuel, so some U.S. cargoes will continue to go to Europe and Asia.

“The forward curve in the European market still shows an uptick in the winter. So, if you have storage, you can bring the gas to Europe, store it until the winter and make money,” said Nikos Tsafos, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Refinitiv said U.S. LNG exports averaged 7.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, down from a four-month low of 8.1 bcfd in April and an all-time high of 8.7 bcfd in February.