JKM July Futures Traded Volumes Down 6.84% on Month: Platts

Traded volumes for JKM LNG futures cleared on ICE fell 6.84% on the month to 65,536 lots, according to Platts. This is up 19.12% year on year.

• By volume, this equates to around 13.18m mt, or 208 LNG cargoes.
• Open interest for JKM LNG futures and JKM LNG balmo futures reached 110,890 lots across ICE as of July 31, compared to 110,283 lots in June.
• Asian LNG spot prices remained below 12.30/MMBtu in July, driven by ample supply and a steady stream of US volumes headed to the East in August amid an open arbitrage.
• The Platts JKM benchmark averaged $12.158/MMBtu in July, down from $12.578/MMBtu in August.
• Lower prices in July sparked some discretionary buying from end users China and Korea to refill stocks with August and September shipments.
• Japan saw a buying spike due to rising gas-fired power demand, although healthy stocks limited appetite.