South Korea imports less LNG in March

South Korea imported less LNG in March than a month earlier as higher temperatures weighed on the country's gas demand. But receipts from a year earlier increased, supported by the country's increased economic activity.

The country received 4.21mn t of LNG in March, down by 18.6pc from the 5.17mn t it imported in February because of higher temperatures.

But its March supplies were up by 18.6pc from the 3.55mn t it imported in March 2020. The increase in March volumes this year is equivalent to 11 cargoes, based on a cargo size of around 60,000t. The higher number of cargoes reflects South Korea's firmer economy in 2021 as the country is expected to rebound to pre-Covid-19 levels by the first half of the year.

South Korea's imports for the first quarter were 13.8mn t, up by 10.4pc from 12.5mn t over the same period last year.

Seoul temperatures in March were higher than February. Minimum and maximum temperatures for March were around -1°C to 20°C on average respectively compared with the previous month's temperature range of -11°C to 16°C respectively, according to AccuWeather. This likely pared gas demand for heating purposes, which put downwards pressure on gas-fired power generation.

South Korean LNG imports may potentially see lesser volumes for the rest of the year as well, as nuclear availability is expected to strengthen in second-half 2021. Nuclear availability is expected to average around 19.9GW during August-December based on the current maintenance schedule, higher than the 17.5GW in last August-December.

Australia, Qatar and Oman were South Korea's top three suppliers in March, collectively accounting for around 62pc of total imports for the month.

Qatar, Oman, the US, Russia and Indonesia reduced their shipments to South Korea in March compared with February, which accounted to the month-on-month drop. The US' March receipts saw the steepest month-on-month drop.

South Korea paid an average $8.54/mn Btu for its March supplies, down from $10.21/mn Btu in February and from $8.87/mn Btu in March 2020.

Indonesia's LNG shipment was the cheapest supplies at $5.96/mn Btu, while Nigeria's was the costliest at $14.53/mn Btu.

The ANEA price, the Argus assessment for spot deliveries to northeast Asia, averaged $10.28/mn Btu for deliveries in the first half of March and $8.02/mn Btu for deliveries in the second half of March.

By Tatiana Rosli