In the day-ahead market on JEPX (Japan Electric Power Exchange), the 24-hour spot power prices on a weekly average basis for Mar 9-13 delivery gained further from the week before for East Japan (50 Hz) and West Japan (60 Hz). The lower temperatures in more areas stimulated demand for heating, increasing prices. In the Kanto area, snowfall was witnessed even in the plain areas on Mar 10, hiking power demand up to 45 mil kW or higher in the Tokyo area on the day.

The spread of the 24-hour spot average between Tokyo and Kansai, a major market area in East and West Japan, was Yen 2.28 on Mar 9, Yen 1.75 on Mar 10, Yen 1.05 on Mar 11, Yen 1.45 on Mar 12, and Yen 0.64 in Mar 13 in favor of Tokyo.

The fuel market trends in the second week of March were detailed as follows. The continuing tension in the Middle East made the fuel market unsettled.

DES Northeast Asia spot LNG prices on Mar 12 hovered at around mid-$ 20's per mmBtu on Mar 12, down around $1.5 from the end of a week earlier (Mar 6). The market followed the roiled crude oil market. The supply/demand of LNG itself, on the other hand, was stable, affecting domestic power spot prices little. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) announced on Mar 11 that Japan's LNG inventories for power generation stood at 2.12 mil mt as of Mar 8, down by 70,000 mt from a week before. The figure was the same as that of the end of March last year (2.12 mil mt) and above the average for the past five years (2.00 mil mt).

FOB Newcastle thermal coal prices in Australia were at around $135 per ton for March 2026 loading as of Mar 12, up over $ 1 from the end of the previous week.

In the crude oil market, WTI crude for April 2026 stood at a low $95's per barrel at 9AM on Mar 13, while Brent crude for May 2026 was trading at around $100. Prices gained by over $4 from the end of the previous week for WTI and by around $7.5 for Brent. In the early week, WTI surged to $119, a 3-year and 9-month high, then pulled down sharply on Mar 10 by the possible release of strategic oil reserve inventories, followed by a rise in response to the turmoil of the Strait of Hormuz. Thus, prices saw large swings in the market.

The actual highest price during the week was at Yen 25.12 in seven areas from Hokkaido through Chugoku on Mar 10; the actual lowest price during the week was at Yen 0.01 in Shikoku & Kyushu on Mar 9-11 and in Tohoku, Shikoku & Kyushu on Mar 12-13.

The weekly average of the 24-hour spot prices by area and the weekly average volume of offers, bids, and trades are shown in the table below. Low temperatures and cloudy days hiked spot prices in all nine areas. The volume of offers decreased from last week, but that of bids, along with traded volume, enlarged.

Power demand in nine areas of Japan during Mar 9-13 was 13,000.93 mil kWh, up 5.7% from 12,305.13 mil kWh during Mar 2-6. The figure was up 9.0% from the corresponding period a year earlier, which was 11,922.08 mil kWh during Mar 10-14, 2025, after day-of-week adjustment.

Deals reported on TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) during Mar 9-13 were as below.

Deals reported on EEX (European Energy Exchange) during Mar 9-13 were as below.

Prices for the third week in March were expected to come down from the second week. A spell of comfortable weather in spring would weaken demand for power, putting a lid on prices. However, the arrival of cloudy days in the middle of the week and onwards, which will cut outputs from photovoltaic power plants, might prevent prices from falling to extraordinarily lower levels despite slow demand. Asked about the outlook for the third week of March, a source at a power producer and supplier said, "Corresponding to weak demand, the base load prices for the third week in Tokyo may hover at lower levels, say by around Yen 1, than those in the second week, which were traded at Yen 13's on average from Mar 9-13. In Kansai, the prices can be Yen 1-1.5 lower than those in Tokyo. The uncertainty of the fuel market will not be wiped out; however, its effect will be limited on power spot prices."