Charter rates for the global liquefied natural gas carrier fleet continue to decrease due to weak vessel demand, while spot LNG prices are now trading below $30/MMBtu.
LNG freight rates for a 160,000-cbm TFDE carrier reached $27,000 a day in the Pacific on Friday, down $3,500 or 11 percent compared to the week before, according to Spark Commodities.
Atlantic rates also dropped 16 percent to $14,500 a day.
Spark said the rates plunged since the winter peaks in late November on the back of weak vessel demand and increasing availability in both basins.
The Spark25 Pacific spot rate hit a record high of $374,500 per day on November 26.
Spot LNG trading below $30/MMBtu
The JKM spot LNG price surged to $56.326/MMBtu in October due to the gas price crisis in Europe and winter restocking demand among Asian end-users.
It hit the highest level for the LNG benchmark for Asian spot LNG since Platts launched it in early 2009.
The spot price declined in the meantime but it traded above $30/MMBtu for a long time.
According to Platts, the JKM for March reached $26.819/MMBtu on Sunday.