In the day-ahead market on JEPX (Japan Electric Power Exchange), the 24-hour spot power prices on a weekly average basis for Sep 22-26 delivery retreated from the previous week in East Japan (50 Hz) as well as in West Japan (60 Hz). With the arrival of easing hot temperatures finally in the second half of September, demand for air conditioning decreased and then put a lid on prices. On Sep 26 we saw a return of hot temperatures in the vast area; however, prices did not rise beyond Yen 20 except for the Hokkaido area.

The 24-hour spot average between Tokyo and Kansai, a major market area in East and West Japan, was Yen 2.29 on Sep 22, Yen 2.05 on Sep 23, Yen 1.14 on Sep 24, Yen 0.95 on Sep 25, and Yen 2.32 on Sep 26 in favor of the East.

The fuel market trends in the fourth week of September were detailed as follows.

DES Northeast Asia spot LNG prices on Sep 25 fell roughly by $0.35 from the end of last week (Sep 19) to low-$11's per mmBtu for prompt November 2025 delivery. The softened natural gas markets in Europe sent the DES Northeast Asia market lower. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced on Sep 24 that Japan's LNG inventories for power generation stood at 1.88 mil mt as of Sep 21, up 70,000 mt from a week before. The figure was above 1.83 mil mt at the end of September last year but below the average for the past five years (2.05 mil mt).

FOB Newcastle thermal coal prices in Australia were in the high-$103's for September 2025 loading as of Sep 25, up just around 50cts from the previous week.

In the crude oil market, WTI crude for November 2025 stood at mid- $65's per barrel at 08:00 on Sep 26, while Brent crude for November 2025 was trading in the high-$69's. Prices gained by roughly $3.0 from the end of the previous week for WTI and Brent. Prices gained due to a perception of an affordable level after the fall of last week. A larger-than-expected withdrawal in US oil inventory also played a part in bullish sentiments.

The actual highest price during the week was at Yen 40.00 in Hokkaido on Sep 22; the actual lowest price during the week was at Yen 0.01 in Hokkaido and Tohoku on Sep 22.

By area, the weekly average of the 24-hour spot prices was at Yen 11.19 in Hokkaido, down Yen 0.71 from the previous week; Yen 9.61 in Tohoku, down Yen 2.83; Yen 10.76 in Tokyo, down Yen 3.52; Yen 9.64 in Chubu, down Yen 4.05; Yen 9.02 in Hokuriku and Kansai, down Yen 3.71; Yen 8.95 in Chugoku, down Yen 2.48; Yen 8.89 in Shikoku, down Yen 2.37; and Yen 8.94 in Kyushu, down Yen 2.48.

In the JEPX auction, the volume of offers was 1,326.22 mil kWh on a weekly average basis, up 10.3% from the previous week. Meanwhile, bids on a weekly average basis were down 8.7% to 1,025.99 mil kWh. The weekly average of trade volumes recorded 790.02 mil kWh, down 6.7%.

Power demand in nine areas of Japan during Sep 22-26 was a combined 11,281.34 mil kWh, down 14.1% from 13,139.97 mil kWh during Sep 15-19. The figure was down 0.7% from the corresponding period a year earlier, which was 11,364.55 mil kWh during Sep 23-27, 2024, after day-of-week adjustment.

Deals reported on TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) during Sep 22-26 were as below.

Deals reported on EEX (European Energy Exchange) during Sep 22-26 were as below.

Prices for the final week of September as well as the first week of October were expected to hover at a slightly higher level than those of the fourth week of September. A spell of summer days with high temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius in and to the west of Kanto would ripple prices by lifting air conditioning demand slightly. Moreover, the expected cloudy temperatures in the first half of the week would cut outputs from photovoltaic power plants and then play a part in price increases. "In Tokyo, base load prices will move at Yen 12's; in Kansai, prices will be Yen 1.00-1.50 lower than those in Tokyo," a source at a power producer and supplier said. At the same time, with the further increase in maintenance of thermal power plants, the tail risk of prices going upward in case of accidents at power plants was perceived among more players.