In the day-ahead market on JEPX (Japan Electric Power Exchange), the 24-hour spot power prices on a weekly average basis for Dec 15-19 delivery declined in East Japan (50 Hz) and in West Japan (60 Hz) from the week before. Comfortable temperatures under good weather weighed on prices. The resumption of one of Hokkaido-Honshu Lines (three lines in total), two of which had stopped operations as of the previous week due to earthquake, also worked to keep the regional price in Hokkaido from surging.

The spread of the 24-hour spot average between Tokyo and Kansai, a major market area in East and West Japan, was Yen 0.63 on Dec 15, Yen 2.36 on Dec 16, Yen 1.00 on Dec 11, Yen 1.97 on Dec 18, and Yen 2.07 on Dec 19 in favor of the East.

The fuel market trends in the third week of December were detailed as follows.

DES Northeast Asia spot LNG prices on Dec 18 hovered at the mid-$9's per mmBtu for prompt February 2026 delivery, almost the same as those at the end of the previous week (Dec 12). In the wake of the natural gas markets in Europe going up and down, the LNG DES Northeast Asia market lacked a direction. Buying interests from end-users in Northeast Asia remained tepid, which also worked to weigh on prices. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced on Dec 17 that Japan's LNG inventories for power generation stood at 2.15 mil mt as of Dec 14, down 30,000 mt from a week before. The figure was the same as the end of December last year (2.15 mil mt) but below the average for the past five years (2.23 mil mt).

FOB Newcastle thermal coal prices in Australia were at a high of $108's per ton for December 2025 loading as of Dec 18, almost the same as those at the end of the previous week.

In the crude oil market, WTI crude for January 2026 stood in the mid-$56's per barrel at 11AM on Dec 19, while Brent crude for February 2026 was trading in the mid-$59s. Prices dropped by around $1.00 from the end of the previous week for WTI and by $2.00 for Brent. The mounting expectation for ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia brought a selloff in the crude futures.

The actual highest price during the week was at Yen 20.00 in Hokkaido on Dec 19; the actual lowest price during the week was at Yen 5.00 in Tohoku on Dec 15, in Shikoku on Dec 16, and in six West Japan areas on dec 18.

By area, the weekly average of the 24-hour spot prices was at Yen 11.87 in Hokkaido, down Yen 2.28 from the previous week; Yen 10.90 in Tohoku, down Yen 0.75; Yen 11.35 in Tokyo, down Yen 0.79; Yen 10.70 in Chubu, down Yen 1.47; Yen 9.94 in Hokuriku and Kansai, down Yen 1.91; Yen 9.88 in Chugoku, down Yen 1.83; Yen 9.75 in Shikoku, down Yen 1.66; and Yen 9.86 in Kyushu, down Yen 1.50.

In the JEPX auction, the volume of offers was 1,225.80 mil kWh on a weekly average basis, up 2.4% from the previous week. Meanwhile, bids on a weekly average basis were down 0.4% to 1,027.58 mil kWh. The weekly average of trade volumes recorded 791.33 mil kWh, down 1.1%.

Power demand in nine areas of Japan during Dec 15-19 was a combined 13,136.29 mil kWh, up 2.0% from 12,884.64 mil kWh during Dec 8-12. The figure was down 4.6% from the corresponding period a year earlier, which was 13,775.01 mil kWh during Dec 16-20, 2024, after day-of-week adjustment.

Deals reported on TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) during Dec 15-19 were as below.

Deals reported on EEX (European Energy Exchange) during Dec 15-19 were as below.

Prices for the fourth week in December would be likely to hover at the same level as those in the third week of the month. Temperatures were expected to be above the usual, limiting demand for heating. A possible weather collapse was to come in the middle of the week; however, that was sandwiched by a sunny spell in the first half and second half of the week, which might work to weigh on prices through ample outputs from photovoltaic power plants. Moreover, with the arrival of the Christmas holiday, the market would be subdued mainly among traders overseas, and so was the softened fuel market. Asked about the outlook for the fourth week, a source at a power producer and supplier said, "Prices will hover at the range from the mid-Yen 10.00's to around $11.00 for Tokyo and at Yen 9.00's for Kansai. Prices will be low within this year."