LNG

There were numerous reports of cargoes working, a mix of FOB tenders and tentative enquiry in both basins had brokers optimistic but despite these reports rates for spot have remained flat.

On the modern 2-Stroke 174cbm ships we have seen growth on all three routes though Fuel Pricing has been one of the major factors for this rise. BLNG1 Aus-Japan closed at $57,702, a rise of $1651 while BLNG2 US-Cont finished at $54,304 and US-Japan BLNG3 saw a closing price of $54,593. The TFDE 160cbm index following an overall similar feeling but BLNG1g fell by $594 to close at $36,503. BLNG2g US-Cont saw $580 gained and a close of $39,560 while BLNG3g US-Japan finished at $40,097 a rise of $536.

For both ships the deals are still constructed mainly on a Round Trip Basis though some brokers have said charterers are pushing for routing back to Hub only.

As the Lunar New Year celebrations are coming to a close this is expected to push activity up and spot prices should see more positive gains on all three routes. The LNG market has been fighting off lingering worries that Natural Gas may not have been the golden child it once was thought but with the recent publication of the Shell LNG outlook there are many positives to take away, one being that LNG is around to stay and continued growth and expansion will be driving the LNG market forward well up to 2040.

Period moved higher, inching up a few hundred dollars across all three periods: six-months closed $53,300 rising $500, one-year grew $766 to $74,833 while the three-year period crept up by $100 to $88,100.

LPG

Despite the Lunar New Year celebrations, the market from the AG has seen plenty of activity. The week began slowly but picked up pace by the mid-point, rates rose for the second week in a row where Ras Tanura-Chiba BLPG1 gained $8.714 to finish at $57.714. The TCE Earnings grew well also finishing up $8390 to a close of $35,679.

Out across the Atlantic there was a good amount of spot activity but rates reacted more reservedly than in the AG. BLPG2 Houston-Flushing saw a rise of $3.8 giving a final publication of $50.8 (a rise of $5351 on the TCE to a close of $43,210). BLPG3 Houston-Chiba began to claw some life back with the ARB narrowing but it wasn’t enough to see much of a meteoric rise and levels grew modestly at $2.572 over the week to a high of $94.286. This pushed daily TCE earnings up $1643 to a final publication of $32,142.