--DES Northeast Asia

　Several traders and portfolio players were keen to buy spot cargoes to cover their short positions for November delivery. European Glencore, European Trafigura, and British Shell bid for first-half November delivery at a 3cts discount to a 3cts premium to the November contract of DES Northeast Asia spot quotations. QatarEnergy Trading (QET) submitted bids for second-half November delivery at a 3-5cts premium to the same quotations. Some sellers favored firm buying interest, with European Vitol offering second-half November delivery at a 7cts premium to the same quotations. "Although selling premiums seem to be eroding, flat prices remain high. Sellers are putting out various offers to find a settling point," said a Japanese analyst. QET was also looking for first-half December delivery at a 3cts premium to the December contract of DES Northeast Asia spot quotations, and showed buying interest for prompt end-October delivery as well.

　 Meanwhile, Japanese public utility energy companies appear to be holding back on spot market purchases due to weak actual demand. Cumulative electricity demand in Japan during Sep 1-23 was 11.6% lower nationwide than in the same period last year, and market sources estimate that electricity demand equivalent to 13 LNG cargoes has disappeared. Under these circumstances, according to several market sources, JERA appears to have been selling a chunk of LNG cargoes on the spot market recently, including Europe-bound sales. However, JERA, which handles 59 mil metric tons of LNG annually, routinely engages in trading-oriented transactions. "Just because inventories are high doesn't mean they're selling more aggressively than usual. The sales volume is likely in line with their plan," noted a European trader. In addition, Tohoku EPC has decided to hold off on spot procurement, while Kansai EPC reportedly intends to decide whether to proceed with spot procurement depending on the restart of the 826MW No3 reactor at its Mihama nuclear power station, scheduled for early October. Furthermore, one of Japan's major city gas companies has shown no interest in spot procurement, citing no significant fluctuations in current industrial gas sales.

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

　 State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) issued a new tender. IOC was seeking one cargo for second-half October to first-half November delivery to the 22.50 mil/year Dahej terminal in the tender. The closing date was, however, not clear. The company purchased two cargoes for October delivery via a tender this week. Meanwhile, state-owned Pakistan LNG (PLL) kept a low profile and have not purchased spot cargoes over the past two weeks. "PLL apparently does not need to buy cargoes desperately," said a Japanese analyst. But PLL could have failed to award a buy tender for Sep 12-16 delivery that was conducted earlier, according to market sources.

--FOB Atlantic, DES Europe and South America

　 For DES Europe, a cargo for first-half October delivery changed hands at a discount of 40-43cts to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) natural gas quotations for October. After the deal, a bid for first-half October delivery was placed at a discount of 45cts to the quotations. Tradable levels for second-half October and first-half November delivery were seen at discounts of 50-55cts to the TTF quotations for the respective month. Meanwhile, the gas storage fill rate in Europe has recently reached 70%. However, the weekly fill rate has slowed slightly to 1.5%. An Asian trader said, "As analysts predicted, the fill rate is likely to reach 76-79% by early November. "The backwardation in TTF futures continues to dampen European importers' enthusiasm for filling storage. On the other hand, we expect TTF to rise to $25 in the event of a cold snap," the trader said.