LNG Bunker Snapshot: Singapore’s price falls on sluggish demand

Rotterdam's LNG bunker price has fallen due to ample supply, while Singapore's price has declined in response to weak demand across the broader East Asian LNG market.

Changes in weekly LNG bunker prices:

• Rotterdam down by $13/mt to $727/mt
• Singapore down by $18/mt to $738/mt

Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s LNG bunker price has declined after four consecutive weeks of gains, following a 2% drop in the front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, a key benchmark for European gas prices.

The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) attributed the price fall to “sufficient LNG supplies and an increase in gas supplies from Norway.”

As of 30 May, EU underground gas storage levels had reached 47.9%, up from 44.2% the previous week, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

“Europe is rapidly filling up its vast underground storage sites,” said Greg Molnár, gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA).

“Milder and windier weather forecasts for the coming weeks are set to lower demand and the market continues to fall,” Energi Danmark added.

Singapore

Singapore's LNG bunker price has dropped by $18/mt over the past week, reflecting “continued sluggish demand from end users across East Asia,” according to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

The price premium of Singapore over Rotterdam has narrowed from $16/mt to $11/mt within the same period.

“Weakness in China's gas demand continued to weigh on the country's LNG imports and moderate gas prices across Asian markets,” noted Greg Molnár, gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Bloomberg News’ Energy Asia team leader, Stephen Stapczynski, expects China’s LNG imports in May to decline year over year.

As of 25 May, LNG inventories for power generation in Japan rose to 2.16 million mt, up by 180,000 mt from the previous week, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Asian LNG bunker prices typically track the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM), which fell by $0.33/MMBtu over the past week, bringing the front-month contract to $12.16/MMBtu, equivalent to $632/mt.

Other LNG bunker news

Global energy firm Shell has supplied an unspecified amount of LNG to a TUI Cruises ship in Barcelona and also delivered bio-LNG to a cruise ship at the Port of Southampton, UK.

In Singapore, FueLNG bunkered a cruise ship with LNG at the Singapore Cruise Centre. Japanese shipping company MOL has ordered an LNG dual-fuel VLCC, while ADNOC Logistics and Services has taken delivery of the second of six LNG dual-fuel carriers being built at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.

South Korea’s HD Hyundai Mipo has signed a contract to construct two LNG bunker vessels. Meanwhile, Avenir LNG has extended its multi-year charter with Excelerate Energy for its 7,500 cbm LNG bunker vessel, Avenir Accolade.

According to the International Gas Union’s 2025 World LNG report, the global fleet of LNG bunkering-capable vessels grew significantly in 2024, reaching 56 units by December.

By Tuhin Roy

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