KUALA LUMPUR- Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices were flat this week amid tepid demand in northeast Asia, though hot weather in Japan weighed on inventories held by major utilities.

The average LNG price for November delivery into north-east Asia was at $13.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), industry sources estimated.

“Market sentiment has remained bearish this week, with comfortable inventory levels in China and overall limited prompt spot activities in Northeast Asia,” said Siamak Adibi, director for gas and LNG supply analytics at FGE, though adding that Northeast Asian buyers like Taiwan’s CPC and South Korea’s Kogas had procured some cargoes for November and December delivery.

“In Europe, underground gas storage is also at about 93 percent full, reducing the immediate need for LNG cargoes in the prompt market… This condition is likely to remain unchanged until we see a decline in temperatures.”

In Japan, the second top LNG importer, inventories held by major utilities eased to 1.64 million tons as of Sept. 22, versus 1.87 million tons on Sept. 15.