--DES Northeast Asia

Spot demand remained at the low ebb as many end-users fulfilled winter demand with term contract cargoes. The market was gripped by looming oversupply sentiment with an upcoming startup of the 18.1 mil mt/year Golden Pass project in the US. On top of that, an analyst in Japan said, "Everybody previously hoped that a cold wave would arrive and boost LNG demand in Northeast Asia. But trade for January delivery came closer to an end without any pickup in demand, and sellers were forced to dump their cargoes at bargain prices." Thus, buyers adopted a bullish stance on prospects for lower price movements. Some buyers were reluctant to buy spot cargoes even at low prices with no room left for fresh procurement. In South Korea, as reported, LNG inventories almost face a tank-top situation. Under the circumstances, a possibility was cited that South Korean end-users were adjusting inventory levels by discharging their cargoes at import terminals that are connected to the domestic gas grid or the 7.1 mil mt/year Gwangyang storage terminal.

--FOB Middle East, DES South Asia and the Middle East

A buy tender closed on Tuesday by Indian state-run Bharat Petroleum Co Ltd (BPCL) was awarded at $9.70-9.75. Through the tender, BPCL was looking for a cargo to be delivered to the 17.50 mil mt/year Dahej terminal. The awarded price was also reported at $9.82. Moreover, a buy tender closed by state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) was awarded at about $9.75 for a cargo for Jan 20 delivery to the Dahej terminal as well.

--FOB Atlantic, DES Europe and South America

The spot market witnessed availability from West Africa for forward loading. State-run Nigerian National Petroleum Co (NNPC) issued a sell tender on an FOB basis. In the tender closing on Dec 10, the producer offered one cargo for Mar 11-16 loading out of the 22 mil mt/year Bonny Island project.