需求回升 亚洲液化天然气价格飙升20%

据今日油价5月14日消息，交易商周三对路透表示，亚洲液化天然气(LNG)现货价格在一周内大涨逾20%，因主要进口国中国和韩国的需求回升，同时买家也取消了美国的LNG货物。

几位交易商对路透社表示，本周几批液化天然气现货价格在每百万英热单位2.4美元至2.65美元之间波动，上周仅为每百万英热单位2美元。

在放松封锁和商业活动恢复的情况下，亚洲的需求开始回升。与此同时，亚洲和欧洲的买家据称已在4月取消了美国LNG项目的约20批货物。

本周，需求的上升和供应的减少推动了液化天然气价格的上涨。

随着亚洲国家放松封锁，亚洲LNG现货价格上周开始缓慢上涨，这创造了一些需求。在此之前，亚洲LNG现货价格已连续三周下跌，因新冠肺炎疫情导致需求低迷，且现货供应过剩。

即使在病毒疫情之前，由于全球天然气和液化天然气供应超过需求增长，天然气价格——从亚洲现货LNG价格到欧洲西北部枢纽和美国基准亨利港的价格——就已经下跌。由于亚洲许多地区冬季气候变暖、新液化天然气(尤其是来自美国和澳大利亚的)供应激增以及中国进口增长放缓，LNG现货价格已经跌至10年来的低点。

随后，北亚迎来了一个较为温和的冬季，整个亚洲的LNG库存在冬季都很高。所有这些因素导致LNG价格跌至多年低点。然后，随着商业活动在封锁期间陷入停滞，疫情进一步重创了液化天然气市场。

裘寅 编译自 今日油价

原文如下：

Asian LNG Prices Spike 20% As Demand Returns

The spot price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia has surged by more than 20 percent in one week after demand in key importers China and South Korea picked up, while buyers have also canceled U.S. LNG cargoes, traders told Reuters on Wednesday.

The spot price at which several LNG cargoes have been traded have ranged between $2.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and $2.65/MMBtu this week, up from just $2/MMBtu last week, according to several traders who spoke to Reuters.

Demand started to snap back in Asia on relaxed lockdowns and a return to business activity. At the same time, buyers in Asia as well as Europe were said to have canceled in April some 20 cargoes from U.S. LNG projects.

This week, the uptick in demand and the lower supply have sent LNG prices jumping.

LNG spot prices in Asia began to crawl up last week as countries in the region eased lockdowns, which created some demand. Before that, LNG spot prices in Asia had fallen for three weeks in a row amid sluggish demand in the COVID-19 pandemic and an excess of spot supply.

Even before the pandemic, natural gas prices - from Asia’s spot LNG prices to the price in northwest Europe’s hubs and the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub - were falling because natural gas and LNG supply globally exceeded the growth in demand. LNG spot prices had hit a decade low due to warmer winter weather in many parts of Asia, booming new LNG supply—especially from the U.S. and Australia—and slower import growth in China.

Then came a milder winter in North Asia and high LNG inventories across Asia in the winter season. All these factors sent LNG prices to multi-year lows. And then came the pandemic that further cratered the LNG market as business activity stalled during lockdowns.