Spot charter rates for the global LNG carrier fleet continued to surge this week and now they are nearing record highs in the Atlantic, according to Spark Commodities.
LNG Prime reported on Monday, citing Spark data, that charter rates have doubled over the last two weeks to above $200k/day in both basins ahead of winter.
Atlantic spot freight rates rose over $300,000 on Thursday as the market “tightens rapidly, approaching the all time high of $322,500 from January 2021,” Spark said.
LNG freight rate for a 160,000-cbm TFDE carrier reached $308,750 a day in the Atlantic on Thursday.
Spark30S Atlantic spot LNG freight rate jumped by $36,25O, Spark said.
The Pacific rate also rose $14,750 to $267,250 per day on Thursday, according to Spark.
European gas prices surged this week following reports of at least four gas leaks at both of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea which were built to carry Russian gas to Europe via Germany.
This is probably the reason behind the jump in spot shipping rates as Europe looks to secure more US LNG supplies ahead of winter.
US LNG supplies surged to Europe this year due to high gas prices and as European LNG countries look to boost energy security and diversify sources.
On the other hand, high demand for spot LNG cargoes in Europe boosted Asian spot LNG prices to record levels this year.
Asian spot LNG prices declined in the meantime but they remain very high. The JKM was last assessed at $39.572/MMBtu on September 29, up 24.99 percent on the year, according to Platts.