Platts JKM for July-delivery LNG cargoes ended the Asian trading session at $4.70/MMBtu Friday, up 7.5 cents/MMBtu on the week as market sentiment firmed up on the back of gains in oil price as well as the UK NBP hub price.
Offers remained in the high $4s/MMBtu while bids were heard to be in the mid-$4s/MMBtu toward the end of the week.
Views were mixed as to how the recent rises in oil and NBP prices would affect LNG spot prices.
"I don't really see demand picking up but we have sizable supplies," said one trader.
Demand from end-users was limited although a few buy tenders emerged.
India's Gail issued a tender seeking two cargoes each for July and August delivery. It will close June 1 with validity for two days.
Gail was looking for a prompt cargo delivery in June through a tender but it was not awarded, sources said.
South Korea's SK E&S and GS Energy were heard to have issued a buy tender for one DES cargo for late August delivery. The cargo is to commission the Boryeong LNG terminal, sources said.
Meanwhile, Thailand's PTT awarded its July 1-4 delivery cargo to Qatargas at around $4.50-4.60/MMBtu, according to sources.
A number of sell tenders also hit the market. Australia's Northwest Shelf launched one end-June FOB cargo. Similarly, a single late-June lifting cargo was offered through a tender by Trinidad's PFLE.
Meanwhile, Australia Pacific's most recent sell tender for a June cargo was heard awarded to a Chinese buyer in between $4.60 and $4.70/MMBtu, various sources said, though this could not be confirmed directly with the seller.
For July, a FOB tender was issued for a single cargo for mid-July lifting from the Snohvit LNG Terminal in Norway. The cargo is being offered by DEA, a stakeholder in the project and is due to be awarded by May 27.
Further out, Portugal's Galp was heard to have closed a tender offering four or six cargoes per year for up to five years from October 2016.
The cargoes are for loading in Nigeria, according to a market source. The tender is understood to have closed already but has validity until the end of the month.
